European TourBrian Keogh January 13, 2010 Joburg Open, Peter LawrieComment
Lawrie keen to find new groove
Super straight Peter Lawrie believes he can get back into the winning groove in 2010.
The Castleknock Tour pro, 36, will begin his quest for a second European Tour title in this week's Joburg Open alongside Darren Clarke, Gary Murphy, Michael Hoey and sponsor's invite Niall Kearney.
And he's convinced that the ban on box grooves this season will see him reap even greater rewards as one of the straightest hitters on tour.
Lawrie said: "I am delighted with the change from the box grooves to the V grooves this year.
"I hit the ball a whole lot straighter than most - I think I was fifth on tour for driving accuracy last season.
"So coming from the fairway is going to help a lot with the groove changes. Hopefully it will give me a bit of an advantage."
Lawrie has slowly built up his career since he graduated from the Challenge Tour and became the first Irishman to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year title in 2003.
He has earned more than €3.2m in prize money and joined the long list of Irish tour winners when he beat Ryder Cup star Ignacio Garrido in a play-off to lift the 2008 Spanish Open.
And while he was denied a second tour win last year when Simon Dyson grabbed the KLM Open after a three way playoff, he's happy with his progress and reckons he's still got a lot more to achieve.
He said: "I should have won a tournament last year but c'est la vie. I am feeling very comfortable out there on tour now.
"And I am still ambitious. It can be difficult to balance home and work life with three small children, but I feel my career is progressing nicely.
"It certainly doesn't seem like seven years since I came through the Challenge Tour and I still feel young in golfing terms."
Lawrie is using the Joburg Open as a serious warm-up for the start of the tour's three-event desert swing in Abu Dhabi next week.
His coach Brendan McDaid will be with him at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club to make sure he's firing on all cylinders.
Things are also going well for him off the course and he's set to sign a major sponsorship deal with a Swiss bank.
He said: "I have re-signed with Castleknock for another year as well and I have a deal with Titleist as well so that's more than enough for me.
"Now it's a question of getting the most out of my game because it's not easy out there.
"Every year the standard is improving and there are guys coming out on tour who want to take your place. I just have to work harder."
Architecture, European Tour, PGA Tour ChampionsBrian Keogh March 06, 2010 Darren Clarke, Gary Murphy, Maybank Malaysian Open, Peter LawrieComment
Careful driver Lawrie survives imperfect 10
Send Darren Clarke, Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy out on the town and it's a fair bet that Lawrie would soon be handed the car keys as the designated driver.
It's not that the Dubliner is more abstemious than the other two, but he's simply not a man of extremes.
European TourBrian Keogh September 09, 2010 KLM Open, Peter Lawrie2 Comments
Lawrie load of talent
Peter Lawrie wants to push on in this week's KLM Open as he battles to record the best season of his career.
European Tour, Sunshine TourBrian Keogh January 12, 2011 Colm Moriarty, Darren Clarke, Gareth Maybin, Joburg OpenComment
Clarke keen to rekindle his golfing romance
A smiling Darren Clarke with his fiancée, Alison Campbell. But can he rekindle his romance with the game.Could this be the week when Darren Clarke finally begins his assault on the summit of world golf? Experience counts for a great deal but the Ulsterman believes that youth and ambition will be tough to beat in this week's Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington.
Lawrie's still got major ambition
Peter Lawrie drives at the 18th at St Andrews last year. Picture Stuart Adams /www.golffile.ie 2nd October 2011Peter Lawrie knows he must hole more putts if he's to improve his "horrendous" major record.
Asian Tour, European TourBrian Keogh November 16, 2012 Hong Kong Open, Peter LawrieComment
Lawrie poised to finish Race in Hong Kong
Peter Lawrie is in contention in the UBS Hong Kong Open. Picture by Jenny Matthews/www.golffile.ieFour and a half years is a long time to wait for your second European Tour victory. But if Peter Lawrie wants to take his mind off the fact that he's 60th in the Race to Dubai and holding the last golden ticket for next week's $8m DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, he knows that adding to his 2008 Spanish Open success is probably the best way forward.
Clarke of the course
European TourBrian Keogh January 15, 2010 Darren Clarke, Joburg Open
Never ending nightmare for McGinley
European TourBrian Keogh January 12, 2010 Dr Liam Hennessy, Paul McGinley