Lawrie on the verge of history as he chases third Qatar Masters title

Phil Casey 01:21 31/01/2016
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  • Flying high: Paul Lawrie.

    Former Open champion Paul Lawrie enhanced his reputation as a bad-weather specialist to remain firmly on course for an unprecedented third victory in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. But defending champion Branden Grace could also create history as the first player to successfully defend the title after a brilliant 68 gave him a share of second place alongside Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen.

    Lawrie defied strong winds at Doha Golf Club to card 16 pars and two birdies to finish 13-under par, two ahead of Grace and Olesen, with England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello a shot further back.

    The 47-year-old’s first win in Qatar came in 1999, the same year as his Open triumph, with the second title in 2012 helping him secure a Ryder Cup return at Medinah after an absence of 13 years.

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    “It’s nice to know that you’ve been there, done it before a couple times on a golf course,” Lawrie said after a round that started with 13 consecutive pars. “Every week that we play, your job is to get yourself in contention with nine holes to play and hopefully we can do that on the front nine tomorrow.

    “There’s a lot of good players behind me. Branden Grace won here before and is well up the world rankings so tomorrow is going to be a different challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.”

    Lawrie’s last victory came in the Johnnie Walker event in 2012, but he believes he has not forgotten how to get over the winning line.

    “I had a couple of top-10s backto-back last year at KLM and Denmark and really should have been higher up in both of them,” he added. “I had a good chance to win both tournaments on the back nine.

    “It’s not as though it’s been years and hopefully I kind of get in there and hit the shots that I’m hitting and knock a few putts in.”

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    Grace’s par streak was even longer, the world No. 11 following a birdie on the first with 14 pars before finishing with a hat-trick of birdies.

    “It was a brutal day out there,” Grace said. “The wind was blowing and the greens were tricky. In conditions like that, it’s tough to give yourself those chances. I think patience was the name of the game. I pretty much got the most out of my round today. I didn’t really think I left any out there.

    “It would be great to defend a title, I’ve not done it in my career. I’m just glad with the type of golf that I’m playing I’m giving myself a shot at retaining the trophy.”

    England’s Richard Bland carded a 67, the lowest score of the day, with 2014 winner Sergio Garcia two shots further back after salvaging a 74 thanks to an eagle on the 18th.

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