Tournament host Paul Lawrie believes Royal Aberdeen is in the best condition he has ever played it as the Scottish Senior Open gets under way.
It is the former Open champion’s turn to play host this week and he could not be prouder of the venue selected for the event where he is defending champion from the last edition in 2019 at Craigielaw.
Lawrie said: “The feedback from the players about the course has been unbelievable as it is the best I’ve ever seen it. I think it will be the best course we play this year on tour.
“It’s amazing we haven’t hosted that many top events here at Royal Aberdeen. The Scottish Open was here and was a huge success, but it is a shame we’ve not had more.
“The course is set up brilliantly and I think this is the best condition I’ve ever seen Royal Aberdeen in, so I can’t wait to get going.
“There’s a wee bit of wind expected on Saturday, but overall it is pretty good. Yesterday was unbelievable, it was scorching in Aberdeen, but I don’t think we’ll see much more of that as the big yellow thing in the sky has gone unfortunately.”
As tournament host, Lawrie welcomed the players to the Pro-Am on Wednesday, before taking part in the Celebrity Pro-Am on Thursday, and he is thrilled to see his tour colleagues play their part in making the build-up an enjoyable one.
Lawrie said: “I’ve been here the last couple of days. I watched everyone tee off on the first tee in the Pro-Am, where you see some great shots and some not-so-great shots. But it was a lot of fun and I think everyone enjoyed it.
“The pros were all brilliant with the amateurs, which is what you want. It has been brilliant.
“There are a lot of guys I haven’t seen for a long time, so it’s nice to go out and have a bite to eat with them, and the staff are great.
“The players are amazing. There’s a whole group of guys here who have had great careers, but they are all here to help the amateurs have a great day. That is what it is all about.”
Lawrie finished seventh in the French Senior Open at the weekend and he believes there is cause for optimism as he begins his defence, despite being unhappy with his ball striking.
He said: “My game is not good. I’ve been getting it round and getting some decent results, despite not playing well, which is a good sign.
“I feel I’m just about ready to click and start putting up good shots rather than just good scores.
“I played very poorly in France last week, I really struggled. It was the worst ball striking week I’ve had in a long time, yet I still managed to finish seventh.
“Anytime you can do that is a good week. You are not happy at not playing well, but if you can finish top 10 while playing poorly, it is a good sign.”