It’s been coming. Over the past few weeks, Paul Lawrie has been delivering so many updates on his health, the golf writers could take on freelance work for The Lancet.
On Sunday, he informed us that he would be pulling out of next week’s Irish Open. “It’s nae great,” said Lawrie with a simple summing up of the foot and back problems that continue to take a painful toll.
Lawrie had then hoped to play in the Scottish Open. But, deep down, you knew there would probably be another update informing all and sundry that he would pull out of that too. And what about the Open over the Carnoustie links where he won the Claret Jug back in 1999?
Yesterday, the inevitable happened. A statement on his own website confirmed what most folk were expecting. Scotland’s last male major winner will not be competing at all again in 2018. Will he actually compete again?
It’s too early to make such a grisly judgement but as he takes an extended period off, and attempts to find a cure for his ailments, the frustrations of the past few months have given way to acceptance of where his 49-year-old body is.
“I’m not going to say I’m about to stop playing completely but it’s been a while now since I’ve been able to play 18 holes without feeling any pain,” he said. “I’ve not hit any balls since the Scottish Par 3 Championship (earlier in the month).
“My plan was just to leave it for a few weeks and see how it feels after that. It’s no better, though. I think the frustration has gone, to be honest. A few weeks ago I was getting frustrated because I wanted to practice and get back into it, but I think I’ve gone past that now.”
Lawrie has tried various things to get to the bottom of his injuries. On the foot front, for instance, he visited the renowned German specialist, Hans-Wilhem Muller-Wohlfahrt.
The Munich-based expert had been the official doctor of the German national football team for many years while he also helped Jose Maria Olazabal extend his golfing career after he was severely hampered by rheumatoid arthritis. Fit like? Unfortunately for Lawrie, Muller-Wohlfahrt’s healing hands didn’t do the trick.
“I spoke to Fraser Mann (the Tartan Tour veteran) recently and he was on about a bloke he went to see years ago when he was almost quitting with his back and foot,” said Lawrie of a potential saviour.
“So, I’m going to see him and see if he can help me. One of these guys might just come up with something. He’s based in London but comes up to Edinburgh once a month apparently to see people. I’m waiting to get his number and hope he might have a magic cure.”
Lawrie has managed only six events on the European Tour this season. His best results have been a share of 61st in Oman and Qatar. For a driven, fierce competitor like Lawrie, though, those kind of making-up-the-numbers finishes were never going to cut it.
With his 50 birthday approaching, Lawrie had always stated his intention to cut back on his main tour duties and build towards a fresh start on the Senior Tour in 2019. Cutting back to the point of not playing, however, is hardly ideal but, given the obvious pain he is in, it has to be the most sensible option.
A complete spell away from the game, and a rest from the rigours that it can visit on a body, may do him the power of good. Well, that’s what Lawrie and everyone in Scottish golf must hope for. A true ambassador and very much aware of his wider sense of duty, this spell of toil and trouble has not sat comfortably with him.
“I want to play, I’ve fixed up deals and contracts for this year and I’m not playing,” said Lawrie, who has been on the tour for a quarter-of-a-century. “That’s not great for them, either. I’ve been supported by some of these people for a long, long time and I feel bad about that because they are paying me to be wearing their logo and I’m not out there.”
Lawrie, who has plenty of other golfing interests away from the course, certainly won’t be twiddling his thumbs during this period of convalescence.
His wife Marian may even get him making the soup in the bustling, hands-on environment of the Golf Centre that they run?
Lawrie will be missed on the tour … but let’s hope he is afforded a new lease of golfing life.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here