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Lawrie: 2008 targets

Realistically if I can get into the top 50 in the world ranking from now to a year's time, I would be extremely happy with that. Between 50 and 51 in world golf is a massive thing. At 51 you're nothing and at 50, you get invited into everything!

Paul Lawrie
Quotes of the week

It's been nine years since Paul Lawrie won the Open, but the Scot is quietly confident he can get back into golf's big time.

The 1999 Open champion told Golf Night he is not one for targets - but is still setting his sights on two major targets this season.

His first is to make the world's top 50 and the riches that await. And the second is to be part of Nick Faldo's 2008 Ryder Cup team.

"It would be nice to play again," he told Golf Night. "It would be sad if I were to end my career and not play in another one. I think I will play one again at some point in time. Ideally this year would be the best one for me to play because I'd be playing well at the time.

"It's always important to get a blend of youth and experience in the team. There's always going to be some rookies in there which is quite important. It's nice to get the young ones in there, but this team is shaping up very well.

"I'm more surprised at the names that are not in there - Harrington's not in there. But there's a whole year to go and there will be a lot of chopping and changing."

Niggle

Lawrie's sole experience of the Anglo-American showdown was the fiery 1999 contest at Kiawah Island and although tempers did boil over at times in South Carolina, he admitted to loving every minute of it.

And while he was quick to condemn the antics that also marred the 'War on the Shore' in 1991, he still insists that you cannot take the intense rivalry away from what has become THE highlight of the golfing calendar.

"Hopefully, it will never get back to Brookline and Kiawah Island and those Ryder Cups - that was certainly over the top," he said. "But you also want a bit of niggle in there. I think you want it to mean something, you want it to be important and you want to win.

"It's important that the match has that, but it's more important that it doesn't bubble over like it has a couple of times in the past. That was nasty and I don't think anyone wants to see that."

What Lawrie does want to see is his own name move up the rankings.

He has been working hard on his swing in the search for consistency and although appearing in just three tournaments so far have left him way down the rankings - he is currently 125th in the Order of Merit - the man from Aberdeen is still confident of a successful year.

"An ideal year would be to make the top 20 in the Order of Merit," he said.

"I'm not a big goal-setter, I tend to play one day at a time and one tournament at a time - and I try to win every tournament I go into.

"Realistically if I can get into the top 50 in the world ranking from now to a year's time, I would be extremely happy with that. Between 50 and 51 in world golf is a massive thing. At 51 you're nothing and at 50, you get invited into everything!"