Paul Lawrie flirts with magical 59 on first day of KLM Open
Saturday 12 September 2015 13:47, UK
Paul Lawrie threatened to record the first 59 in European Tour history but had to settle for a share of the lead after the first round of the KLM Open at Zandvoort.
Lawrie needed to birdie his final two holes at Kennemer Golf Club to break the magical 60 barrier, albeit on a par-70 and with preferred lies in operation, but he managed only two pars to settle for a career-best 61 which was later matched by Wade Ormsby.
The 1999 Open champion started at the 10th and got up-and-running with an eagle at 12 before picking up four shots in five holes to turn in just 28 blows.
The veteran Scot rolled in further birdie putts at the second, sixth and seventh holes, but his hopes of a 59 were dashed when he pulled his tee shot to the short eighth into a greenside bunker, from where he did well to get up and down for par.
And after a par at the last capped a stunning effort, Lawrie said: "Sixty-one - it sounds good, doesn't it? I played very nicely and putted very well again. I hit a lot of really good shots and it couldn't have been much lower than that. I'm usually moaning that I could have been three or four less, but that was pretty much all I could have got.
European Tour Golf
"The 59 did cross my mind. I had a long putt on the seventh for eagle after a lovely three wood in there, and had that popped in one birdie in the last two holes would not have been asking too much.
"In the back of your mind it's in there, but 61 is still a good effort," added Lawrie, who had been a doubtful starter for the tournament after he pulled out of the pro-am due to a back problem.
"The back is not great to be fair but it's all right," he said. "I did not play any golf on Wednesday and just stayed in the hotel and did some stretching, so might do the same again."
Ormsby was three under par after 11 holes but birdied six of the last seven to match Lawrie's back nine of 28 and finish nine-under, one clear of England's Richard Bland.
Six birdies and an eagle in the first 15 holes meant Bland also had the chance to shoot 59, but three closing pars left him alone in third, a shot ahead of English trio James Morrison, David Horsey and Robert Rock, Dutch home favourite Joost Luiten and Argentina's Tano Goya.
Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer, the highest-ranked player in the field, recovered from an early bogey with four birdies in seven holes around the turn as he opened with a solid three-under 67, while last year's Ryder Cup captains Paul McGinley and Tom Watson both fired 69s.
Watch the second round of the KLM Open on Sky Sports 4 HD on Friday from 10.30am, via the Red Button, or on Sky Sports Xtra.
