Lawrie hangs on to the lead
Ireland’s Peter Lawrie was today clinging on to his slender lead in the second round of the Algarve Open de Portugal.
Lawrie held a one-shot lead overnight after a first round, six-under-par 66 took him ahead of a group of seven players.
A further 21 were within three shots of the lead as the field took advantage of the Sir Henry Cotton course at Penina which measures just 6,798 yards, around 400 yards less than the modern average.
Lawrie was among the first groups out again this morning and initially threatened to pull away from the logjam with birdies at his first two holes.
But two bogeys took him out in level-par 37 and only a birdie on the second edged him back to the top of the leaderboard ahead of Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Jimenez, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for next week’s US Masters, had picked up three birdies this morning to improve to six under as he chased a second win of the season and almost certain place in the European Ryder Cup team.
Lawrie became the first Irishman to win rookie of the year honours – named after former Open champion Cotton – 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.”
