RED-HOT Paul Lawrie, Scotland’s most recent champion on The European Tour, has confirmed his intention to return to Castle Stuart near Inverness in search of the title at the head of his wish list – the Scottish Open.
And spectators hoping to see the 1999 Open champion and 2012 Commercialbank Qatar Masters winner in the world-class field can enjoy special discounts, with £7 off day tickets and £15 reductions on season tickets if purchased before March 31.
Lawrie will make the short trip from his Aberdeen home to the Moray Firth venue in July with his confidence soaring following a superb finish to the 2011 season, with second place behind Alvaro Quiros in the season-ending Dubai World Championship presented by DP World, and an even better start to 2012 by winning in Qatar two weeks ago.
World number one Luke Donald has already confirmed he will return to Castle Stuart to defend the Scottish Open title he won last summer and Lawrie, who notched up his seventh European Tour success by capturing the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy for the second time, admitted that following in Donald’s footsteps and capturing the Scottish Open would represent the crowning glory of an illustrious career.
“I’ve always stated if I was ever to win just one more title then it would be the Scottish Open,” said the 43 year old Aberdonian.
“Obviously, it’s your home Open and in my case, with Castle Stuart in Inverness as the venue, it’s actually played pretty close to where I live. It would be a huge honour to be Scottish Open champion.”
The 2012 Scottish Open will see Lawrie celebrate his 20th anniversary in relation to the tournament, having made his debut in the event at Gleneagles in 1992. He is also returning in some of the best form of his illustrious career, having moved back inside the world’s top 50 at number 45, and to third place in The 2012 Race to Dubai.
The 1999 Open champion is also currently closing in on the €10 million barrier in official European Tour earnings, having amassed €9,910,369 to date, and he cannot wait to revisit the Castle Stuart links, where he finished tied 25th last year.
“It was brilliant, I think all the players loved it,” he said.
“The golf course was really good and it was a pity about the freak weather on Saturday, but it was nice to play on a links before The Open and I think it worked really well. The strong field shows how good it was.
“I played with Padraig Harrington and Phil Mickelson in the first two rounds, so it was nice to get a good draw in front of your home crowd. Every player will tell you the same thing – you want to play at home as often as you can, and two of my biggest wins have been in Scotland. It makes it that little bit more special.”
Special ticket rates will apply up until March 31, with adult one day tickets now costing £28 instead of £30 – a reduction of £7 on prices on the gate during tournament week. Adult seasons currently costing £70 will be pegged at £65 until March 31 and rising to £80 on the gate.
For full details of those and other Scottish Open ticket and hospitality offers and other events on The European Tour can be found at: www.europeantour.com/tickets or by calling 0800 023 2557. Postal enquiries go to European Tour Tickets, Mirren Court Three, 123 Renfrew Court Three, Paisley, PA3 4EA.
