Paul Lawrie's long absence from Augusta over

Scotland’s Paul Lawrie was surprised to learn only 145 yards have been added
to Augusta National Golf Club since the last time he played in the Masters Tour­na­ment.

“Is that all?” he said. “I thought it would be a bit more than that.”

Lawrie hasn’t been keeping track of the changes at Augusta National, but it has been a long time between trips down Magnolia Lane for the 1999 British Open champion.

Eight years, in fact. His five-year exemption into the
Masters for winning the Brit­ish Open ran out in 2004.

He qualified for this year’s Masters by virtue of being in the top 50 in the World Golf Ranking the week before the tournament. He was ranked 46th on March 25, the cutoff date to qualify.

The other late qualifier was Ben Crane, who was 49th.
Lawrie’s high ranking came thanks to a career revival that has featured a pair of European Tour victories in the past 13 months and a second-place finish.

After doing TV commentary work in the 2010 Ryder Cup, Lawrie realized he wanted to be part of the action again. His last victory had come in 2002.

“There have been quite a few things (that sparked his comeback),” Lawrie said. “I’ve been working a little harder; I’ve been swinging it a bit better. I’ve been putting better. There are four
or five things that have contributed to playing a little bit better.”

The comeback trail started when he won the Open de Andalucia in Spain in March 2011 to end his nine-year victory drought.

He then finished second in the Dubai World Cham­pion­ship in December.

He followed that with a victory in the Qatar Masters,
winning by four shots in Feb­ruary.

“The way he shot that 66 the last day at Qatar was impressive,” said Sweden’s Peter Hanson, who tied for second. “I was one of the guys trying to chase him down. We had pretty much nothing to say about that. We were seeing who would finish second.”

That victory moved Law­rie into the top 50 in the World Golf Ranking on Feb. 5 at the 47th spot – the first time he’d been inside the top 50 in eight years. It also completed a climb of nearly 200 spots in the ranking in the past 12 months.

He stayed in the top 50 for the next eight weeks to earn a surprising trip back
to the Masters. At the beginning of the 2011 Masters, Lawrie was ranked 145th in the world.

“It was on my mind a wee bit,” he said while playing at the WGC-Cadillac Champion­ship in early March. “I’ve been thinking about it a little while. It would be nice to play there again. I have not played there in a while. It will be a nice achievement at my age. I’ve been away for a little bit.”

“It’s fantastic to see him back, being Open champion 1999, which is many years ago,” Hanson said. “I see him in the gym almost every day working out. He is really committed. I have to say it is good to see that. We’ve never doubted his game. He’s always been a fantastic player.”

At 43, Lawrie isn’t showing his age.

“When you get a little bit older you kind of lose a little bit of focus, but I actually feel the opposite,” he said.

“I feel I’m getting better. I feel my ball striking has improved immensely since I turned 40. And I’m hitting it a lot farther than I probably ever hit it going by the stats.”

In his five Masters appearances, Lawrie finished 15th in 2003, tied for 37th in 2004 and missed the cut three times.

“Overall, it’s a pretty poor record,” he said. “The year I finished 15th, I think I led for a few holes in the third round, so 15th is the worst it could have been.”

The evolution of the World Golf Ranking has made it much more important to be in the top 50 than it was when Lawrie was winning on a regular basis on the European Tour in the 1990s.

“It’s the only place you can be,” he said. “When you’re 51, you’re only in the tournaments on your own tour, but at 50, you’re in everything. If you’re not in the top 50, it’s very hard to get in the top 50.

“Top 50 in the world ranking is the be-all and end-all for a tour player.”