This golf lark never fails to fascinate, flabbergast and flummox. By his own admission, Paul Lawrie had played some of the “worst golf of my career” during a chaotic outward half of his third round in the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Trump International Golf Links.
His playing partners, Gary Orr and Robert Coles, didn’t fare much better. The final three-ball were a combined 13-over for the first nine holes and would’ve struggled to hit the cow with a banjo let alone the cow’s you know what.
By the end of a fraught old day, though, Lawrie was four shots clear at the top after embarking on the kind of salvage operation that’s usually reserved for maritime wrecks.
His one-over 73 left him on a seven-under tally and well clear of Coles and Simon Khan heading into the final round.
“It is an amazing game,” gasped the 1999 Open champion of golf’s unfailing ability to bewilder and bamboozle.
During a sublime performance on Friday, Lawrie took route 66 to the top of the leaderboard. For a spell during day three, it looked like he was on a highway to hell.
Four-over after five holes, Lawrie limped to the turn in 40 blows. It would get worse too. “On the 10th, I fatted it into a bush with a 5-iron,” Lawrie added. “I must have hit it 120 yards. You are thinking, ‘wow, I want to go home’.”
Lawrie finally got going coming home, though. Birdies at the 11th, 15th, 17th and 18th repaired some of that earlier damage and fortified a hitherto shoogly position of authority at the summit. It had been one of those strange golfing days.
“There were all sorts going on in those first five holes,” said Lawrie, of a grouping that just about needed a collective tourniquet to stem the leakage of shots.
“We hit it everywhere. It was some of the worst golf of my career, just unbelievably bad.
“But then you get to the point when you think it’s surely the bottom of the pile so now let’s go.
“I just played lovely coming home. I flushed it and one-over was a good salvage job. I started two ahead and I’m now four ahead and I shot over-par. But I need to play better on Sunday.”
Khan battled manfully for a level-par 72 while Coles, who was all at sea after a torrid front nine of 41, steadied the ship and picked up birdies at the 16th and 18th in an eventful 75 to keep himself clinging to Lawrie’s coattails.
On a testing day of trials and tribulations for those at the sharp end, only one player in the top-15 managed to post a sub-par round. Adilson da Silva’s four-under 68 was such a rarity, the official recorder just about got his card valued.
Despite a brace of early bogeys at the first and third, the 2022 Staysure PGA Seniors champion rallied and a haul of six birdies helped bash out the dents as he finished on level-par.
“After three holes I had a chat with myself and said, ‘come on, wake up',” said the Brazilian of that sluggish start. “I holed a nice birdie putt on five and that got me back in the fight.”
With the Olympic golf event roaring to a thrilling finale over in Paris, Da Silva’s mind drifted back to Rio 2016 when he hit the opening tee-shot as the old stick and ba’ pursuit returned to the Games after an absence 112 years.
“After the birth of my sons, that was the highlight for me, it was quite amazing,” he said of that memorable Olympic moment.
Da Silva was joined on level-par by Aberdeen veteran Scott Henderson, who enjoyed the company of tournament host Colin Montgomerie, and emerged with a 72 to share fifth.
“I had never played with Colin before,” said Henderson of an outing with golfing royalty. “He was brand new. I enjoyed watching what he does. I would love to be as straight as that.
“I struggled a bit but I saved a lot of shots with the putter. I sometimes feel claustrophobic around this course.
“It’s not one of these places where you open your shoulders and give it a smash. But hopefully I can get it going on the final day.”
Monty himself is back in a share of ninth on one-over after a 73. It’s Lawrie who is the man to catch.
