Well, that was a sore one. Paul Lawrie was hoping for a silver lining in his own backyard. Instead, he was lamenting a sorry ending.
Two clear standing on the 16th tee of the final round in the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Trump International Golf Links on the outskirts of his native Aberdeen, Lawrie leaked four shots during a ruinous run-in and lost by a stroke to Englishman, Robert Coles.
The man known as Chippy was, understandably, not very chipper and departed the scene before the sheepish golf writers could mumble the awkward phrase, ‘any chance of a summing up?’
Lawrie’s late anguish was in stark contrast to the jubilation of Coles. He was a merry old soul indeed. No wonder. In a 30-year professional career, this was the biggest win of his sporting life.
A cheque for almost £93,000, meanwhile, would’ve had him calling for his pipe, his bowl and his fiddlers three in giddy triumph. Coles even got a congratulatory tinkle on the phone from the former US President, Donald Trump. Coming up Trumps and all that.
When Lawrie stumbled to bogeys and 16 and 17, the destination of the title was hanging in the balance. It was advantage Coles when Lawrie then hoiked an approach into a treacherous spot to the left of the 18th green.
The former Ryder Cup player would eventually sag to a shattering double-bogey while Coles could afford the luxury of a championship-winning bogey.
His one-under 71 – the only sub-par card in the top-10 – gave him a four-under aggregate while Lawrie’s 76 left him on three-under.
“It is comfortably the biggest win of my career,” smiled Coles, who also won the Senior PGA Professional Championship back in May. “It was a bit of a hit and run job, but I’ve completed a PGA double and I’m thrilled by that.
“I know Paul will be disappointed and I feel for him. I just got lucky at the right time and got my nose in front.
“My short game has been exceptional this week. Not that long ago, I did think that when I played with some of these guys on the Legends Tour, my short game wasn’t good enough. So, I’ve worked hard on that
“I’ve been so disappointed with myself over the last year or so as I felt I had a few opportunities to win and never saw them through.
“I was getting very frustrated with myself. But patience is a big thing in this game and I have been a bit more patient of late.”
During Saturday’s third round, Coles trudged to the turn in 41 shots and his title ambitions appeared to be going up in smoke.
A couple of late birdies coming home, though, were the reward for his spirited efforts as he kept himself in the hunt. Coles would earn the ultimate reward on a super Sunday.
“After nine holes on Saturday, all I was thinking was that I’d have an earlier tee-time on Sunday and I might be home a bit earlier,” he said with a wry grin.
“But again, patience has been key. I knew if I could string a few pars together after that outward half it would stop the bleeding. As long as I stayed in red figures I’d be ok. And I was.”
A week ago, Coles gave himself a timely lift with a spirited back-nine on the final day of the Senior Open at Carnoustie to finish just inside the top-30.
“I was four-under for that nine and it actually gave me a bit of momentum coming into this week,” he said. “If it wasn’t for that I would have maybe been struggling.
“It gave me a bit of a jump-start coming here. I was confident but I never expected to win.”
With Lawrie slipping back into second, Simon Khan claimed third on one-under after a 74. The leading trio were the only players to finish in red figures.
As for tournament host, Colin Montgomerie? Well, he finished in a share of seventh on two-over after a 73. Earlier in the week, Monty said this could be his last event of 2024 due to ill health.
“I’m taking a minimum of two months off,” he said with a slight change of plan. "I’m 61 and I haven’t had a rest since I was 21. I hurt my back in a bunker too. Everything is falling to bits.”
It sounded a bit like poor old Lawrie’s finish.
