IT IS a measure of how removed Paul Lawrie became from the centre of European golf in recent years that the last time the 1999 Open champion qualified to tee up at Valderrama for the season-ending Volvo Masters was in 2005.
When he meets Ireland's Peter Lawrie on the tee in Spain this morning, it will be only the second occasion in five years that Lawrie has played well enough to join the elite group of 60 golfers who compete for a first prize of 708,000 over the next f
our days.
One of only two Scots in the field – former winner Colin Montgomerie makes his 21st consecutive appearance in the event since 1988 – Lawrie earned his biggest cheque of 2008 when he was runner-up at the Portugal Masters two weeks ago. It was the highlight of a positive series of consistent autumn performances. "The last few months I have felt competitive again, which is a great feeling," said the Aberdonian.
On a course as nuanced and testing as Valderrama, it was understandable that Lawrie should spend a fair bit of time practising his short game and putting in preparation for what will be the last staging of the European Tour's showpiece event in the south of Spain.
Since Valderrama established a deserved reputation over the past 20 years as Europe's Augusta National, it was no surprise to hear the Scot tell his website: "It is in fantastic condition as always with the greens running quite fast. There is a new tee at the 16th which is much better. There are certain places you just can't go on this course and you need to be patient…good job it's my middle name."
While the focus next autumn at the end of the 2009 season will switch to the Gulf and the climax of the Race to Dubai, it's worth reflecting on how Valderrama has been a happy hunting ground for Scots since the event began 20 years ago. Sandy Lyle was the first Scottish winner in 1992, beating Montgomerie in a playoff, while Monty won twice in 1993 and 2002.
Moreover, Montgomerie savoured many of his eight season ending Order of Merit triumphs there."I won the Volvo Masters in 1993 and then in 2002 tied with Bernhard Langer when we were unable to finish a play-off due to bad light," he recalled.
The quest for this season's Order of Merit title involves four of Europe's Ryder Cup players – Robert Karlsson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez, although defending champion Justin Rose, who sealed his 2007 title with a play-off win in the Volvo Masters, is not in contention. With an advantage of more than £230,000 over the winner of the Open and the US PGA, Karlsson starts in pole position to become the first Swede to win the Vardon Trophy.
As for the tournament itself, after an impressive performance in winning the Castello Masters over his home course on Sunday, world No 3 Sergio Garcia is the 11/2 favourite to clinch another victory on Spanish turf. Monty and Lawrie are both quoted as 100/1 outsiders.
