“It’s always nice to hit the opening shot. Hopefully it will be calm, and you get four hours of decent weather. It’s a nice thing to be asked to do. Looking forward to it,” said Lawrie, who will make his 27th start in the championship. He’s made 14 cuts with a win in 1999 for his only top 10. In 1999 at Carnoustie, Lawrie rallied from 10 strokes back in the final round to beat Jean Van de Velde and Justin Leonard in a playoff after they all finished regulation at 6-over 290. Lawrie posted a 67 in the final round to make the playoff, then birdied the last two holes of the four-hole playoff to win by three shots. Lawrie took 15 strokes over the four holes, while Leonard and Van de Velde had 18. The 53-year-old Lawrie, an eight-time DP World Tour winner, reveals he still gets the first-tee jitters at times and expects them on Thursday as well: “No matter what tournament I’m playing in I’m always a wee bit nervous, but obviously it’ll be a little bit more because it’s The Open and it’s the 150th. Luckily, it’s a nice, big, wide fairway down there.” See the link below for Lawrie’s full transcript.
