Lawrie foots bill for Toe substitute

The caddie shack will shuffle to the sound of a stranger's feet over the next few days. Peter Lawrie - flying high in the money list in his rookie year on the full European Tour - has been forced to "phone a friend" after his regular caddie, who goes by the name of "Toe," fell victim to, ahem, an infection in his foot.

And Philip Walton, the former Ryder Cup hero, has called up former Irish soccer star Niall Quinn - "I hope we can stay friends after this," quipped 10-handicapper Quinn - to carry his bag.

For Lawrie, the change in caddie won't be too disruptive, if at all. His regular bagman, James Ingram, a Scot, has been forced to take the week off after the infection in his foot got into his bloodstream. But his replacement, Paul Wilson, a golfing buddy from Lawrie's Newlands days, has previously caddied for him on the Challenge Tour - including a win last season - and also carried the bag for him in Dubai earlier this season.

In many ways, Lawrie - one of the busiest players on tour - has been one of the revelations of the season.

This week's European Open will be his 20th event of the season - "I've probably played a bit too much, and maybe I need to be like a racehorse and start choosing my races," he admitted - but the Dubliner has already achieved his main goal (retaining his Tour card) and, now, has his sights set on making his next ambition, qualifying to play in the season-ending Volvo Masters.

Already, he has secured one runners-up finish - when losing to Kenneth Ferrie in a three-way play-off in the Spanish Open - but his expectations are such that he now looks at the leaderboard to see what he has to shoot to get into contention rather than figuring out what he needs to do to make the cut.

Of this week, he quietly said, "I think I have a chance."

Lawrie, who secured his card for this season via the Challenge Tour, believes his game has matured. "I'm more consistent off the tee, more consistent with my iron play . . . and a little bit more confident all round," he claimed.

His results would confirm that, as he has manoeuvred his way into 32nd position - sandwiched between Barry Lane and Arjun Atwal - in the moneylist with earnings of €293,961.

Up to now, though, he hasn't rewarded himself by buying any presents. "I'm too happy counting it and haven't spent a penny," quipped a player who spent six years trying to win his Tour card.

Since moving up to the big league, Lawrie has been impressive; and his mind-set has changed. "Now I am looking at leaderboards and thinking what do I need to shoot, to try and get up there," he said.

And, keeping with the racehorse analogy, Lawrie believes he is a good outsider this week. "I know there'll be a lot of people outside the ropes, pulling for me," he said.

The prize money in this year's British Open at Royal St George's, Sandwich is £3.9 million - an increase of £100,000.

The winner, however, will receive the same £700,000 cheque handed to Ernie Els when he triumphed at Muirfield last summer after a five-hole play-off.

The additional purse has been distributed through the field, second place going up from £400,000 to £420,000, championship secretary David Hill confirmed yesterday.