Paul Lawrie 'shattered' - decides not to play

 in his own Invitational at Deeside this week

By COLIN FARQUHARSON 

Paul Lawrie has decided he will not play in his own 54-hole invitational which tees off at Deeside Golf Club tomorrow.
"I came home from the KLM Open on Sunday night, played in the pro-am here at Deeside today and I just feel shattered," said Lawrie.
He has decided not to play because it would mean six weeks' tournament golf  in a row if he played at Deeside and following on from last week he feels a start in his own event has to be sacrificed in order to allow him to focus on European Tour business and Race to Dubai points.

Lawrie will still play the host over the next three days at Deeside Golf Club where he is an honorary member and which is less than a mile from his house in Bieldside, a leafy suburb to the west of Aberdeen.
Both Paul Lawrie Invitationals start tomorrow but the £45,000 men's tournament, in which the first prize of £8,000 is one of the biggest on the Tartan Tour, is over three rounds and ends on Thursday while the £5,000 women's competition is over 36 holes and ends on Wednesday.

Without Lawrie in the field, the leading contenders for the top prize should include Greig Hutcheon and Greg McBain, both playing out of the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre stable.

Hutcheon has a great record in events played in his own neck of the woods and much the same applies to Aberdonian McBain who won the Paul Lawrie Invitational with a seven-under-par 203 total in 2012 and scored again last year with a birdie at the second hole of a play-off against Gavin Hay (Nairn Dunbar) after they had tied on 10-under 200.
No clear favourite for the women's first prize of £2,250 and the Stewart Spence Trophy as the Tartan Tour Ladies' Champion but Alford's Laura Murray (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) has added consistency to her long-hitting prowess while Kylie Walker (Mar Hall) and Sally Watson (Castle Stuart) also have experience at the top level.
The pros' scores in the curtain-raising pro-am were not recorded but the fact that they were associated with the first three teams suggests that Kenny Hutton (Downfield), Greig Hutcheon (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) and Scott Henderson (Kings Links) are in good nick.
Hutton piloted the Simmons and Co No 3 team of Jeff Corray (handicap 16), Jamie Mock (14) and Gary Millar (18) to victory with a net two-ball total of 17-under-par 123.
Greig Hutcheon and the Saltire Energy No 1 team of Mike Loggie (12), Michael Loggie (5) and Jack Loggie (2) finished second on 127 on a better inward half than Scott Henderson's Simmons and Co No 1 team of Nick Dalgarno (11), Chris Lloyd (7) and Ian Jack (8) who also totalled 127.
 
SPECTATORS MORE THAN WELCOME AT
DEESIDE INVITATIONALS

There is no charge for admission or car parking at Deeside Golf Club for the Paul Lawrie Men's and Women's Invitational tournaments over the next three days.

Spectators will be made very welcome

TUESDAY'S TOP TEE TIMES AT DEESIDE

MEN

8.44 David Law, Ross Kellett

8.55 Paul Broadhurst, Paul McKechnie, Greg McBain

9.06 Greig Hutcheon, Craig Lawrie, Sam Binning.

9.17 Craig Ronald, Kenny Hutton, Cameron Marr.

9.28 Chris Kelly, Paul O'Hara, Robert Arnott

9.57 Scott Henderson, Kenny Ferrie, Gavin Hay.

10.08 Andrew Oldcorn, Craig Ross (a), Alastair Forsyth

10.52 Stephen Gray, Jason McCreadie, Fraser Mann.

WOMEN

11.45 Laura Murray, Jane Turner, Michele Thomson

11.56 Maria Tulley, Alyson McKechin.

12.07 Heather MacRae, Nastja Banovec (am), Emilee Taylor

12.18 Gemma Dryburgh, Rachael McQueen

12.19 Kirstin Scott, Nichola Ferguson, Gillian Paton (am).

12.40 Sophie Powell, Chloe Rogers, Sally Watson

12.51 Kylie Walker, Gemma Webster