Lawrie's club may be priced out by win

The head of Open champion Paul Lawrie's home golf club in Aberdeen admits they may be priced out of remaining among his sponsors.

Newmachar Golf Club chairman John McIntosh voiced the delight of his members at their tournament professional Lawrie's stunning play-off success at Carnoustie.

Yet the club realise negotiating a deal for Lawrie to continue wearing the Newmachar crest after January next year - when their current modest contract with the player expires - could well prove beyond their means.

McIntosh said: "Everyone here is delighted for Paul and now we are all eagerly awaiting seeing Paul sporting our club crest at the US PGA later this year.

"We always sensed Paul had a lot of potential and were delighted to link up with him as a sponsor and agreed a two-year deal with him to help publicise our club.

"That runs out in January 2000 and by winning a Major we recognise Paul has now clearly opened a lot of doors, right now there is so much going on, but we will talk to him when the dust settles.

"We are a new club, having only been open for less than a decade, so part of our marketing strategy was to have Paul promoting us, but we realise he's in a different league now."

McIntosh revealed Lawrie is a frequent visitor to the club, which is only a short distance from his home, and is a popular figure who is widely viewed as a "true gentleman".

He added: "This success has come as a surprise, but it's well-deserved for Paul and we're all proud of him. He's a down-to-earth character who's well-liked at the club where he's always encouraging the juniors.

"He has worked hard for what he's achieved and I think the manner in which he did it will be remembered for a long time with the composure he showed towards the end of his round, which had the mark of a champion about it."