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ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

September 30, 2015

Paul Lawrie

Carnoustie-Kingsbarns, Scotland

MICHAEL GIBBONS: One of only few to have played only 15 Alfred Dunhill championships. You've played them all.

PAUL LAWRIE: How many have played them all?

MICHAEL GIBBONS: About ten-ish.

PAUL LAWRIE: Looking forward to it. Obviously had a couple of weeks off. Last week I was struggling a wee bit. I had a sore back early in the week. Then my foot was a wee bit playing up towards the end of the week.

But played nine holes yesterday, nine holes this morning, and going to play a few holes this afternoon on the Old Course. The game feels okay, had two weeks off. So you never know what you're going to get, so feel fit. See what we get.

MICHAEL GIBBONS: Growing confidence in the form given the last few performances?

PAUL LAWRIE: Yeah, played nicely in Denmark and Holland and probably the way it turned out, had a chance on the back nine in both events, could have won both of them really even though I finished seventh and 10th.

Game has been getting better for awhile. First two rounds of The Open was good and second two rounds were disappointing. I feel as though it's been getting back for a long time now. It's been slowly but surely building into getting better again.

This is a favourite week of mine. Always enjoy playing with Martin. Always a good laugh, he picks the ball up quickly when he's out of the hole, so that helps. I've known him a long time, so it's good fun. You can take the piss out of him and he doesn't mind, always a good laugh.

Q. Can you put your finger on what's been the catalyst, the recent form, the two Top 10s?
PAUL LAWRIE: Yeah, I've been putting a lot better. I got a new putter from Caledonia putters, who I have a deal with. It's different grooves on it. I've always had quite a long stroke and always decelerated a wee bit, so made a putter with slightly firmer grooves and rolling it a lot better. Getting the ball to the hole much easier and it's been great.

My putting stats are much improved compared to what they were before I was using it. When you start holing putts, it goes through your whole game. Confidence just builds and builds. You can see Jordan Spieth last week, when you hole putts like that, it's almost impossible not to win. I've been putting a lot better, I think is the big difference.

Q. I read in 2001 when you won here, you didn't exactly -- that was a key when you won then, and you talk about your putting being much better. Is that a happy coincidence, do you think?
PAUL LAWRIE: I hope so. Obviously 2001 I arrived for the week and I had been playing lovely the whole year and putting poorly. And then Sheamus from Odyssey was the first 2-Ball putter that they had ever made, there was only one, he had one with him.

I was on the putting green at Kingsbarns and he had it and I putted with it for about ten minutes and I refused to give him it back. But he only had one and I ended up running off with I am had. I was quicker than him that day. He might have caught me now but he didn't catch me then. I holed everything that week, especially on the Saturday. I was 10-under through 12 holes at the Old Course on the Saturday that week and then bad light stopped play and ended up shooting 9-under, I think it was. Just putted magnificent.

I kind of feel I'm not putting that level at the moment but I'm certainly putting as good as I've putted for months. So if my kind of back holds up and my body holds up, then I don't see why I can't get on a little bit and get going again.

Q. Top-50, 60, Race to Dubai, World Rankings, things like that --
PAUL LAWRIE: Well, I've got this week, next week and Portugal to get myself into Turkey is the first goal, obviously, to play there. And then if I can get in there, then you the goal is to get in the next one and get into The Race to Dubai, is always the goal. I don't want to set out at the start of the year thinking Top 60 would be a good year. Obviously you're thinking higher than that.

So what am I on the Order of Merit, 80-odd, 90-odd? So getting myself into Turkey would be a good result. So I've got these next three weeks to try to get myself into that position and go from there. When you get into The Race to Dubai -- a couple years ago, I finished second there and that was a massive amount of points. Takes a week that size to get yourself going again.

I still feel if I can play decent this week and the next couple weeks, I can get myself in a position at the end of the year where I've racked up a few points. It just breeds confidence. It just goes through you when you start playing decent, start earning some points, start earning money and off you go.

Q. Could you expand on your putting? For instance, how many holed 10-footers would it take to have you putting on a different plane?
PAUL LAWRIE: How many holed 10-footers?

Q. To put you on a different plane to make you see, I really am putting well.
PAUL LAWRIE: Well, this last little while, I've probably been taking four of my seven chances, let's say, whereas a few months ago, I was taking one or two of the seven or eight chances.

My putting's improved hugely. But we don't hit it -- I've been holing very few from 25 to 40 feet whereas I've been holing a few of them in the last few weeks.

It's amazing how one of those a day is a huge difference at our level. One putt less a day is four a week. If you give me four shots less this week, then you are nearly guaranteed to win some weeks. It's been much better. It's been hugely improved. I'm working hard on it.

Not that I've gone back, but I've gone back to straight back, straight through on the short putts again which I kind of got a way from a wee bit, so I'm holing out very well. My six feet and in putting stats are phenomenal the last few weeks again, so it's all the difference.

Q. Seeing good young players coming through, where does Jordan Spieth --
PAUL LAWRIE: Well, what is he, 21, 22? I mean, my oldest son's 20. To think a year from now, this boy has won two majors, he's won the FedEx, he's won THE TOUR Championship; just amazing to see how well he's doing at that young age.

But like I said before -- not that he's not a good player because he's a phenomenal player. But when you putt like that, it's pretty hard not to win, to be fair. His putting stats are just incredible. When you look at them and see how many putts he holes -- and he's not holing them from ten, 12 feet, is it. How many does he hole from 30 to 50 feet; he just rams them in.

But you've still got to play, you've got to get the ball on the green at that position so he's still doing all that. But he's a phenomenal young man, isn't he. And he comes over well, speaks well, seems to come from kind of good background, well brought up, got time for people.

So right now, he's the real deal, no question. Winning and a nice guy. A bit like myself. Apart from the winning.

MICHAEL GIBBONS: Finishing on that note? I think we are. Paul, thanks very much for joining us.

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