Lawrie off to a flyer in the Algarve
Ireland’s Peter Lawrie quickly extended his lead in the early stages of the second round of the Algarve Open de Portugal today.
Lawrie held a slender overnight advantage after a first round, six-under-par 66 took him one shot ahead of a group of seven players.
A further 21 players were within three shots of the lead as players took advantage of the Sir Henry Cotton course at Penina which measures just 6,798 yards, around 400 yards less than the modern average.
But Lawrie was among the first groups out again this morning and wasted no time in pulling away from the pack with birdies at his first two holes.
Starting on the back nine, Lawrie, who last year claimed the European Tour rookie of the year award, picked up shots at the par-five 10th and 11th and then parred the 12th to improve to eight under par.
That took the 30-year-old Dubliner three shots clear of the field with none of those on five under having started their rounds yet.
Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson were out on the course however and both also birdied the 10th to move to four under par.
Lawrie became the first Irishman to win rookie of the year honours in 2003 after a superbly consistent season which saw him finish in the top 20 six times.
He was only denied an initial victory in a sudden-death play-off in the Spanish Open but aims to fill the missing gap on his CV on Sunday.
“That’s the one thing that’s missing, putting four rounds together,” said Lawrie.
“I’ve been up with the leaders after two or three rounds this year [he finished ninth in Dubai] but fallen away on Sunday.
“I have been guilty of chasing it too much but I have the lead now and I just need to keep on going forward rather than watching anyone else.”
Lawrie recently became the first player to sign up with the management group set up by Nick Faldo, after passing an “audition” with the six-time Major winner.
“Nick’s people approached my brother first and then I sat down and had a meeting with them and then with Nick in Melbourne,” added Lawrie.
“I then played eight holes with Nick and after a few phone conversations it was a done deal. I think Nick’s aim is to sign four or five players initially.
"His big thing is to try and get a deal with a major corporate sponsor and nurture it and build up a relationship, rather than chopping and changing every year.”
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