Lam's early exit spurs him to greater heights

Lam Chih Bing bowed out of the British Open with a second round six-over-par 77 on Friday but the Singaporean has vowed to fight his way back into the world’s oldest Championship.

The 30-year-old, making his Major debut, failed to cope with the vagaries of links golf at Carnoustie and insisted that his 11-over-par 153 total was not a true reflection of his performance this week.

“I’m going to go back and work my butt off and make sure I come back again,” said Lam after his round. “I was disappointed with my score. I felt I had played a lot better than that. I was losing shots so easily which I need to learn to play the links a bit better.

“I was playing well. I missed several short putts which was unfortunate. Just a few things that I need to learn from this week, especially on how to handle myself better. I was excited and I tend to get a bit quick when I’m excited. The next time I’m under pressure I will be able to handle myself better.”

A double bogey on the par four 463-yard second hole derailed his hopes of becoming the first Singaporean to play in all four rounds at the Open. He found a fairway trap with his three iron tee shot, blasted it out into more trouble in the rough and then hit a third shot that struck a spectator on the greenside en route to a six.

His consolation was two birdies on the fourth and sixth but Lam dropped four more bogeys and another double on the 17th.

“I had planned to play it really safe on the second hole and yesterday, I was next to the fairway bunker with a one iron and I took a three iron out this time and it must have taken one bad hop. From off the tee I thought it was perfect but when I got up there, I had no shot and ended up with a double,” said Lam.

He believes the experience in Carnoustie will help turn around his career, which has so far seen him underachieve on the Asian Tour. Lam started working with a new coach three months ago and feels he is on the right track.

“This is my first Major and yesterday, I was quite nervous. I played late yesterday and there weren’t many people on the course but today, there were a lot of spectators and you could hear the roars from all over the course. It’s just an amazing feeling for me … to be walking inside the ropes and being part of all this.

“I’m pretty confident that when I get back on the Asian Tour, I can do really well. I hope to finish in the top-60 of the UBS Order of Merit (to earn full playing exemption in 2008) and I would like to win a tournament. I’ve been changing my swing and it feels great and I’m feeling excited about the second half of the year. Everything is coming in nicely. I’m confident of doing well,” said Lam.

Despite his exit from the Open, Lam will remain in Carnoustie and catch the weekend action. “I’m going to watch Tiger Woods play and maybe learn something from him,” he said.

July 20, 2007

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