THE SENIOR OPEN PRESENTED BY ROLEX

July 27, 2023

Paul Lawrie

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Your opening round here at the Senior Open Championship, not a bogey on the card and only one of two people to do that. Must bring you a lot of comfort.

PAUL LAWRIE: Well, a decent score but should have been obviously way better. Played lovely and putted absolutely awful out there. Hit a lot of really, really good shots and just couldn't get the ball near the hole.

But like you say, it's a good score. It's not an easy day. The wind is blowing a wee bit and the rain is coming in but I played a lot better than that.

Q. Arguably some of the guys in the morning might have had a tougher turn with the weather, but it certainly wasn't smooth sailing. What's the biggest challenges you face out there on that course?

PAUL LAWRIE: Well, the wind is constantly blowing. It's a great course. I mean, I had not played it until I got here. The course is very impressive. Everyone said that before I came, so I knew what I was coming to.

But the challenge you face is it's a links course. The ball can bounce anywhere. The wind is kind of blowing a wee bit and it's a tough test. It's a good course out there. It's not overly short, really, for us, at our level.

Overall, 70 is a good score. Not a problem with it. But kind of a wee bit...

Q. You tend to excel in windy conditions. With 25-, 30-mile-an-hour winds forecasted rest of the week, do you relish that opportunity?

PAUL LAWRIE: Well, nobody ever gets out of bed and wishes that it's blowing a gale, no. But if it is, it is. You've just got to deal with it, haven't you. It's your job. Stick the ball back in your stance, take a couple of clubs more and swing it a bit softer. It's not overly difficult.

But conditions like that make it quite tough to keep the ball down and keep the ball on line. If it's going to be 25- or 30-mile-an-hour, that's a proper wind, and it's going to be tougher for everybody, no matter if you like it or not.