Paul Lawrie may well stand a good chance of playing for Europe against America at Gleneagles next year, but he is also aiming to follow Paul McGinley's path to Ryder Cup captaincy by returning to the Seve Trophy later this year, perhaps as a playing captain for Great Britain & Ireland.

Lawrie, 44, tees up in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which starts today, aiming to become the oldest man to retain a European Tour title, at a tournament he has won twice. Organisers have brought the event forward by a day in an attempt to entice bigger crowds, as Sunday is a normal business day in Arab countries.

Lawrie's first victory in Doha in 1999 was followed by success at The Open later in a year that also marked his first Ryder Cup appearance. Winning a shortened event last year led to him moving into the top 50 of the official world rankings for the first time in eight years.

The Aberdonian went on to earn a place in Jose-Maria Olazabal's Medinah Ryder Cup team following a second victory in 2012 in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

While he is hoping to become the first triple winner in the Qatari capital, he admits to holding a longer-term ambition of following in McGinlay's footsteps.

"If I qualify for the Seve Trophy, I would look seriously at competing, especially as it has Seve's name next to it," Lawrie said. "I've always played in it when I've qualified and, if I was asked to be a playing captain, then yes, why not? I would need to be asked first, though, so we will have to wait and see.