Aberdeen golfer Craig Lawrie believes his new putting coach made the difference after winning the Scottish Par 3 Championship.
The 26-year-old finished five-under-par to win the Tartan Pro Tour event by two strokes at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre on the outskirts of Aberdeen.
A run of five birdies on the bounce helped Lawrie, son of 1999 Open champion and tournament host Paul, storm up the leaderboard and finish two shots ahead of Andrew Oldcorn, Gavin Hay, Kieran Cantley and Scott Young.
Lawrie, who had opened with a level par 54 in the 36-hole event, was pleased to see his work on the putting green pay off with a second round score of 49.
He said: “I made a really good up and down at the first and then made five twos in a row which got me right in amongst it.
“I birdied 10 to go six under and then dropped a stroke at the 12th, birdied 16 and then dropped a shot on 17 to finish on five under.
“I knew five under would have a good chance but I was surprised to win by two.
“I have been playing OK but I recently started going to see a new putting coach, Clarke Lutton at Murrayshall, and that has really helped.
“I have always been really solid tee to green but putting has been an area I have struggled with so it has made a huge difference.
“I putted great so it is a real confidence boost.
“When you don’t putt great it puts pressure on the rest of your game.”
5️⃣ 𝙄𝙉 𝘼 𝙍𝙊𝙒 @CraigLawrie95 moves into the lead thanks to five consecutive birdies 🔥#DevelopingScottishTalent pic.twitter.com/cf28q6x6bu
— tartanprotour (@tartanprotour) July 15, 2021
Lawrie hopes the victory will help give him some momentum heading into the rest of the Euro Pro Tour season.
He said: “My Euro Pro Tour season has been a bit stop-start. I missed the first couple of cuts and then made the last two.
“I really feel like my game is close to clicking and getting some good results on the Euro Pro Tour.
“This is an event I have always wanted to win.
“My dad has won it (in 2015) and my cousin Sean won it two years ago so it is nice to get my name on the board too.”