Paul Lawrie back to the day job

Newly-crowned Open champion Paul Lawrie returns to his day job this week with a huge sigh of relief at the Smurfit European Open.

Lawrie has barely had time to catch his breath since his dramatic play-off victory at Carnoustie less than a fortnight ago.

Commercial offers and letters of support have been flooding in by the sackload to his home in Aberdeen and the phone has not stopped ringing since the moment his magnificent four-iron rolled to within three feet of the flag on the final extra hole.

And although the 30-year-old has enjoyed the attention that comes with winning a major title on home soil, he will be glad to be back within the sanctuary of the roped off fairways of the immaculate K Club.

"Last week was tiring and difficult and it's nice to just get back between the ropes, hitting balls and doing what I need to do," Lawrie said.

"My wife was having a few problems dealing with all the attention because the phone never stopped ringing.

"We went out to lunch the other day and when we walked into the restaurant the whole place was clapping, it was very strange.

"We also went shopping in Aberdeen and that was a hair-raising experience. I just wanted to buy some socks but you could hardly get into the shops with all the people. It was incredible.

"It's up to us to try and make it as normal as we can. Everyone's expectations of me have gone up but nothing has really changed."

What has changed, of course, are the demands on Lawrie's time and also the commercial and playing opportunities now open to him with places in the Ryder Cup, USPGA, World Championship and countless other tournaments guaranteed.

"The hardest thing is going to be saying no when you don't want to," he added. "Golf has to come first and I have to get back this week and get the job done."

His biggest job since the Open has been opening the thousands of letters that have found their way to his house from all around the world.

"I've had them from Australia, New Zealand, everywhere you could imagine. Half of them have just been addressed 'Paul Lawrie, 1999 Open champion, Aberdeen'. It's amazing they've got to my house."

Ironically Jean Van de Velde, runner-up at Carnoustie after his infamous last hole collapse, had a similar tale to tell of his week off since the Open as he coped with the equally glaring spotlight of the world's media.

The Frenchman thought he might escape all the attention by returning to his birthplace in the South of France but found himself followed there by television crews and reporters, and also letters of support that somehow found their way to his home.

"One came from a man in England who wrote on the address, Jean Van de Velde, south west France, and then he had cut out a picture of me from the paper, the one with me in the burn, and stuck it on the envelope with an arrow saying: "That's him!"

"I haven't received one letter saying 'You stupid idiot'. One of my friends said he has never been in that position so he didn't have the right to criticise."

Neither, according to the likeable 33-year-old, did those who questioned his caddy's role in the 18th hole farce when a three-shot lead was sunk in the Barry Burn and a greenside bunker.

It was reported he was withholding his surname from reporters in order to avoid detection by the French tax authorities but Van de Velde insisted: "I don't think Interpol are looking for him!

"His name is Christophe Angiolini and I don't think (the criticism of him) is justified. If he had stood in front of me with a wedge I might have knocked him down and put him in the water.

"I was making the decisions. It's a team effort but I take the responsibility. He is still with me this week and next week and the week after unless he sacks me!"

This is typical of Van de Velde, one of a store of self-deprecating one-liners of the kind that has won him a lot of friends worldwide for the way he has handled himself in the aftermath of the Open.

He even joked that sponsors Disneyland Paris might name a new ride the 'Van de Velde Water Torture' in his honour and laughed at suggestions that hackers having a bad round will say they're 'Having a Jean'.

For him, the terms 'disaster' or 'tragedy' simply do not apply to a game of golf.

"From my point of view this isn't the most tragic thing that could happen to me. I have a friend Olivier Edmond (a fellow tour player) who is 29 and is suffering from cancer. You have to put things into perspective. I have no right to complain.

"It's a game and hopefully I will get another chance and I really hope Olivier will get that chance one day too.

"My life has changed a lot for the positive. The Ryder Cup is a great boost, I've got an invitation to play in the USPGA and the Masters and if I finish in the top 15 in Europe I'll be in the US Open.

"I was on the front of L'Equipe - the first time ever for a golfer - made the news on television and almost took the Tour de France off the front page, you could only see half the bike!

"It has put France on the golfing map. People will remember my name, that's for sure.

"But I don't want anybody to feel pity for me. I came very close and the entertainment was nice. It was a sad ending but that's it.

"I still have a chance to win it next year. If I do it 10 times in a row maybe then you can feel sorry for me."