Peter Lawrie will begin a landmark week in his career when he tees off in the Lyoness Open powered by Sporthilfe Cashback Card at Diamond Country Club on Thursday as he competes in his 400th event on the European Tour.
Lawrie’s seventh appearance of the season in Austria will bring about a milestone that was set in motion 20 years ago.
The Irishman’s first appearance on Tour was at the Smurfit European Open, but it was his foray into his first national Open in 1998, his second appearance on the circuit, that the 42 year old recalls with greater clarity.
“I shot 82 at Druids Glen and was feeling that this was the worst score anybody could shoot out there,” remembers Lawrie.
“Then I saw Padraig Harrington stood right in front of me and he’d shot 81. He was a superstar, so I probably didn’t feel as bad.”
Lawrie would wait ten years before claiming his sole win at the 2008 Spanish Open in Seville, where he beat home favourite Ignacio Garrido in a play-off.
Although he acknowledges the difficulty of winning, Lawrie feels he could easily have been a multiple European Tour winner.
“Looking back on my career, I feel that I should have won more. I’ve given myself plenty of opportunities.
“I got beaten in three or four play-offs. At KLM, I had it in my hands and I gave that one away. There were a few others where a little bounce could have gone my way, but I’m very happy to have won at least one and the career that I’ve had, I wouldn’t give back.
“Of course, I would have liked to have done better, but I can look back on it and say I’ve been a good golfer, but also a good father and I’ve tried to mix both.”
On the topic of combining his career with being a family man, Lawrie says he is in awe of players who manage to be successful at both.
“I find it very difficult to bring the family away,” he said. “I don’t know how the guys do it out here, how they be Dad, husband and golfer all in the same week. I find that very difficult, but it’s lovely to have them at the week when they’re there. To try and be a golfer that week is tough.”
Lawrie, who arrives in Atzenbrugg on the back of the Nordea Masters, still believes he’s got what it takes to compete.
“I’m looking forward to it with the way I’m playing. I’ve actually putted quite well. The game is still there and I’ve been practising hard. I played lovely at the Spanish Open and Morocco. I got just the wrong end of the draw in Ireland, I got an early-late draw and just didn’t cope with the conditions very well. But I’m still here and hopefully here for some time more.”
