Lawrie makes flying start but early exit for 

Daly in European Tour Murcar match-play

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Paul Lawrie made a brilliant start to the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay with a formidable 5 and 4 victory over Frenchman Romain Wattel at Murcar Golf Links.
Lawrie could have been forgiven a few first round nerves as he attempted to juggle being the tournament’s host and hometown hero, but he rose to the challenge magnificently as he took down one of Europe’s most talented young players.
While Lawrie emerged victorious in the first round of the straight knock-out competition, the tournament’s other Major Champion, American John Daly, was forced to catch an early flight home as he lost to Spain’s Jorge Campillo on the 18th green.
Other notable results from a thrilling first round of match play saw the tournament’s other hometown boy – Richie Ramsay – recover from three down through seven holes against India’s Shiv Kapur to win one up on the last green having birdied the final two holes.
Another Scot, Chris Doak, made an even more remarkable recovery to come back from four down through five to overcome Anthony Wall on the 18th, while Scotland’s highest ranked player, Marc Warren, defeated Richard Bland one up.
The tournament’s Number One seed, James Morrison, justified his status with a 2 and 1 win over Pelle Edberg.
Player Quotes
Paul Lawrie: “I played nicely. Felt in control, felt fresh. I got to my bed nice and early last night after a good night's sleep. I got here early this morning and did a bit of putting and a bit of practise and got my head around that I'm not the host anymore; I'm a player.  The last couple of days has been pretty busy with all of the commitments around hosting the event, so this morning it was nice to be a player. There were a few people out there and you're under a wee bit of pressure to make sure you perform to a certain level for them.  You know they are there to watch you, and I know I kind of do all right when I'm in that situation, so it was nice to go out there and play some nice golf and give them a nice win.”

Richie Ramsay: “You feel the pressure, but that's what I love. That's what you practice for. And I think, I said it before, that when I was younger, I would probably feel the pressure and not play as well. But now, with a bit of experience, you realize that this is what you're playing for. This is fun. You've got to go out there and play, and it's the kind of golf course that is fun to play, because you can hit driver and you can hit long irons off the tee and play conservative. Just stuck to my game plan. Didn't change it. And then obviously great to finish with two birdies, which was pretty clutch coming down the stretch.”

Marc Warren: “When I saw the draw, I knew I was going to be in for a tough day out there. Richard is a very good player and been on some great form this year, as well. I knew it was going to be a tough game. It was a very good game. We both played solid tee-to-green. Towards the end we both putted quite nicely and holed a couple of putts and I was delighted to see my putt go in on the last.”

TO VIEW ALL THE RESULTS

CLICK HERE