Paul LAwrie (AFP)
Former British Open champion Paul Lawrie, who is on a morale-sapping eight-year title drought, rolled back the years on Thursday to take a share of the first round lead at the Andalucia Open.
Former British Open champion Paul Lawrie, who is on a morale-sapping eight-year title drought, rolled back the years on Thursday to take a share of the first round lead at the Andalucia Open.
The 41-year-old Scotsman carded a five-under-par 65 to join defending champion Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark at the top of the leaderboard, one shot ahead of a group of seven players.
Lawrie remains Britain's last winner of a Major title but 11 years on from his 1999 victory at Carnoustie - helped by Frenchman Jean Van de Velde's famous implosion - he is 235 in the world rankings.
Recently, he teamed-up again with former coach Adam Hunter, who was recently diagnosed with leukaemia.
"He's doing all right. It's been a terrible time, but he's out of hospital now, so fingers crossed he's on the road to recovery," said Lawrie, who had been working with Bob Torrance, coach to three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington.
Lawrie turned in a one-under 35 on Thursday and then, like Kjeldsen, birdied the first three holes en route to a four-under front nine of 30.
Phillip Archer, Bradley Dredge, Mark Brown, Dutchman Joost Luiten, Spaniard Ignacio Garrido, Argentina's Daniel Vancsik and France's former British amateur champion Julien Guerrier were all locked in third place.
Kjeldsen, who won the title when the tournament was played in Seville last year, had what he described it as "a dream start" of three 20 footers in a row.
The 34-year-old Dane, 51st in the world, has a second appearance at the Masters Tournament to look forward to in two weeks.
South African Louis Oosthuizen and Swede Alexander Noren still have a chance of making it to Augusta by winning this week - they need to move into the world's top 50 - and they began with rounds of 67 and 69 respectively.
© 2010 AFP/sid
