Spanish third place propels Lawrie up European rankings

DUBLINER Peter Lawrie’s admirable third-place finish in the Spanish Open at the weekend earned him €92,895 and pushed him up to 29th on the European Tour money list with a total of €157,836.

Accordingly, the tour’s rookie of the year in 2003 is virtually assured of a card for next year.

It was a splendid weekend’s work by the 31-year-old former Irish amateur champion, who birdied the par five 17th and the daunting 18th at San Roque in the final round.

Accordingly, he maintained the hugely successful start to the season made by a whole host of Irish golfers.

Padraig Harrington has won on the US Tour and Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke (even in less than flattering circumstances) have finished second.

In Europe, Paul McGinley has enjoyed a succession of top ten finishes and David Higgins is a clear leader of the Challenge Tour Order of Merit.

The tour now returns to China for the next two weeks.

The Johnnie Walker Classic takes place at the Pine Valley course in Beijing, starting on Thursday, boasting a strong field for such an event.

World number three Ernie Els, world number five Retief Goosen, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott will spearhead the field.

The prize fund is €1,830,325 and the winner will depart richer by €305,049. Lawrie is the only Irish player involved.

Irish positions on European Order of Merit after Spanish Open: 23rd Paul McGinley 202,301; 29th Peter Lawrie €157,836; 33rd Padraig Harrington €142,306; 34th Darren Clarke €141,343; 49th Graeme McDowell €89,683; 51st Damien McGrane €83,747; 119th David Higgins €30,000; 150th Gary Murphy €21,857; 219th Stephen Browne €8,149; 234th Michael Hoey €5,684; 278th Philip Walton €1,107.

Irish world ranking positions: 6th Harrington; 16th Clarke; 43rd McDowell; 64th McGinley.

Irish positions on US Tour Money List: 17th Harrington $1.104m; 18th Clarke $1.079m.