Lawrie Named Euro Tour Rookie of the Year

Irishman Peter Lawrie has been named the European Tour’s Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year for 2003.

Lawrie,29, is the first Irishman to have the honor bestowed upon him and follows last year’s winner, Nick Dougherty of England.

I looked at the list of past winners of the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year some time ago and was amazed to discover that no Irishman had ever won it, especially when you think of how well people like Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington played early in their careers on the European Tour,’ said Lawrie.

His closest chance at victory in his freshman season on tour was a runner-up finish at the Canarias Open de Espaa, where he finished in a tie for second after losing out in a sudden-death playoff.

Lawrie, the 39th recipient of the award, was 56th in the final Order of Merit money list. He also had six top-20 finishes on the year.