Golf:Paul Lawrie is looking to bridge a 13-year gap as he goes into the final round of the Commercialbank Qatar Masters with a one-stroke lead. Lawrie was the second winner of the title in 1999 — and followed it by becoming British Open champion at Carnoustie that July.
Now, in an event cut to 54 holes because of strong winds, the 43-year-old Scot stands eight under par after a superb second round 67. That included a one-stroke penalty on the 10th green after he dropped his ball on his marker — amazingly for the second week running.
“I’d never done it in my life — 20 years on Tour — but last week in Abu Dhabi I was lucky because my caddie saw it and said the marker never moved,” he said. “This time I wasn’t sure and (senior referee) Andy McFee said I had to be 100 per cent sure. I wasn’t watching and you guys didn’t have it on the telecast, so you’ve got to take the penalty and kick on.”
It meant a par five rather than birdie there, but he then picked up shots on the 11th, 16th and long 18th, where he chipped to five feet.
The added incentive for Lawrie, currently 78th in the rankings, is that victory would lift him not only into the 64-man field for the Accenture World Match Play
in Arizona later this month, but also back into the game’s top 50 and in with a great chance of earning a return to the US Masters in April. He last played at Augusta in 2004.
Big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts is in second place after a 68, with Swede Peter Hanson (69) and Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez (67) a stroke further back.
Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and American John Daly had led the tournament after starting with 66 and 67 respectively, but Fernandez-Castano did not have a single birdie in a 75 that dropped him to three under, while Daly’s 73 left him in a nine-way tie for seventh and part of a group which also included Sergio Garcia, England’s David Lynn and Anthony Wall and also Lawrie’s compatriot Marc Warren.
Lee Westwood has five shots to make up like Fernandez-Castano after a 70 and among those on the same three under mark are Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal and world number four Martin Kaymer.
Round of the day was a 65 from defending champion Thomas Bjorn. It followed a 79, however, and so the Dane still made the cut with only a stroke to spare on level par.
Graeme McDowell made it through right on the limit of one over, but those who crashed out included KJ Choi — round in 78 after his opening 68 — Hunter Mahan, Paul McGinley, Colin Montgomerie, Robert Karlsson, Ross Fisher and Henrik Stenson.
