Lawrie laments misses, but says ‘a win is not far off’

ALTHOUGH separated in age by five years, Peter Lawrie, 37,and Colm Moriarty, 32, have plenty in common.

They came through the GUI route, learning the game and all that goes with it, winning championships, before turning professional.

After that, though, their careers have gone in opposite directions. Although it took Lawrie the best part of six years to make his presence felt, he has now accumulated over €4.4m in prize money, captured the 2008 Spanish Open and firmly established himself on tour. It may seem a small figure when compared to the riches and the titles collected by the likes of Darren Clarke, Pádraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.

However Moriarty would bite your hand off for a small percentage of what Lawrie has achieved given that, since he turned professional in 2004, he has yet to gain a card on the regular tour!

And in some ways, their respective finishes in the Irish Open at Killarney reflect the direction their careers have taken. Lawrie birdied the 18th for a 69 to finish on nine under par, leading Irishman and set for a top ten finish.

First round leader Moriarty battled gamely through the weekend before settling for a share of 45th.

“I could have been in the mix had I not missed putts of four or five feet at the first two holes and again at the 5th”, said Lawrie. “These is a lot more pressure playing at home but it is still very special. The galleries over the four days have been unbelievable. You have to take your hat off to all the volunteers here and Fáilte Ireland for putting the money in. Hopefully this will show what Ireland can bring to a sponsor and that, touch wood, we’ll come back here next year with a sponsor. It’s right there for a big sponsor to come in.”

Lawrie may have bemoaned the early misses but he knocked in birdie putts at the 12th and 13th to get to eight under before finishing in style with a big drive down the last, a wedge of 119 yards to 10 feet and a putt that found the centre of the hole. He became a dad for the fourth time this summer and now believes his career is about to take off.

“It’s my first time being leading Irishman so I can’t be too hard on myself”, he commented. “I’ve been a slow starter but I think my game is getting to a stage that I know what I’m at, I know what I shouldn’t be doing, all the work I’ve done with Brendan McDaid is paying off. I don’t think a win is that far off.”

Moriarty led the Irish challenge in the first round after a splendid four under 67. By Saturday night, his chances of a meaningful cheque had passed following rounds of 72 and 74.

“I felt I left a good few shots out there the first two days”, he said. “But I worked on the range with coach Bob Torrance this morning and felt I was swinging it really well — and then I was two over after five. So to be one under at the end wasn’t too bad.”

One under for the 72 holes could be regarded as a reasonable performance by a man who plies his trade almost exclusively on the Challenge Tour but it did little more than reassure him what it takes to make the grade on the main circuit.

“I’m definitely disappointed after my start on Thursday but the thing for me is that I need to be out here all the time”, he stressed. “I feel I can contend but it’s very difficult to do it in four or five starts. I felt comfortable and loved playing in front of the big crowds on Thursday and Friday. It was a great buzz. But it felt a bit flat on Saturday and again Sunday. When there’s a load of people around, it’s easier to focus than when there are only 50 or 100.

“When it’s a 1,000 or so, you don’t notice anyone moving, when it’s 50 you can see everyone walking.”