Lawrie looking for more major success

Paul Lawrie has made the first difficult decision of his reign as Open champion - to tell the organisers of the World Cup that he will not be playing for Scotland in Malaysia in November.

Instead the 30-year-old, who capitalised on Jean Van de Velde's last-hole nightmare at Carnoustie, will join the other major winners this season at the lucrative Grand Slam of Golf in Hawaii.

As he prepared for the United States PGA championship starting in Chicago on Thursday - his first ever tournament in America - Lawrie said he had thought long and hard before making up his mind.

"I'm desperate to play for Scotland, but the Grand Slam without the British Open champion might not be the same for them," said the Aberdeen golfer, referring to organising the PGA of America.

First prize in the four-man match play event in Hawaii is £280,000 and even if he finishes last Lawrie would still pick up over £90,000.

He and Colin Montgomerie would have to win the World Cup for him to earn more than that.

The Grand Slam is on November 16-17 and the World Cup starts the very next day. "I could probably play both, but it's a lot of travelling," he added.

He will be representing Scotland, though, in the Alfred Dunhill Cup in October - much closer to home at St Andrews.

Lawrie had more evidence of how his life has changed the moment he came through the gates of Medinah Country Club, where the final major of the millennium takes place.

"It took me a while to get to the locker room because I was signing autographs. And I could hear people saying 'God, he won the British.'

"It's fantastic - everybody recognises me now."

That certainly applies at home as well. Less than a month after his shock victory - he was 10 strokes behind with a round to play, scored 67, then saw Van de Velde triple-bogey the last when three clear, before winning the play-off with two closing birdies - he has already bought himself a Porsche and one of the biggest houses on the market in Aberdeen.

"We were going to move anyway, but my price range went up," he said. "We move in in October."

What has also gone up, he knows, is other people's expectations of him now he is a major champion, although the bookmakers still have him rated at over 100-1 to win this week - just like Van de Velde.

"I'm just going to do my best. There's nothing more I can do.

"This is obviously different to what I'm used to and I'm just hoping it's not going to be really hot and humid.

"I'm not very good in extreme heat and I visited a sauna at a local heath club several times last week trying to prepare.

"My coach Adam Hunter suggested it. I'm not the fittest guy in the world, so I spent 20 minutes at a time and also did went in the steam room and did some cycling.

"Everybody was shocked by my win and that's fair enough. I also understand the attention that has been on Jean since.

"When you have a double bogey to win and you don't do it there's bound to be attention on you. I spoke to him in Ireland two weeks ago and he seems to have taken it really well.

"Hopefully, he will bounce back and win soon."

Lawrie already knows two of his rivals in Hawaii - Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal and US Open winner Payne Stewart - and in accordance with US PGA tradition they are also the two players he is paired with in the opening two rounds this week.

Part of a 23-strong European contingent at the event, British attention is not just on Lawrie, of course.

Montgomerie, a nine-shot winner in Sweden on Sunday, makes another attempt to win his first major.

Lee Westwood is brimming with confidence as well after capturing the Dutch and European Opens since Carnoustie.

"I'm obviously playing well and I've proved I can play all the shots under pressure when it matters," he said. "That's where I've improved the most."

Westwood led the Masters with nine to play in April, but fell away to sixth place - still his highest finish in a major.

"It's a daunting experience when you lead a major, but I think I am a better player for that. Since going to Butch Harmon (Tiger Woods's coach) after that my short game has improved tremendously."