Lawrie sets his sights higher

Paul Lawrie has set his sights on playing for Scotland in the Alfred Dunhill Cup at St Andrews in October after running away with the Qatar Masters.

But if he continues playing as he did, a Ryder Cup debut might have to become the target.

The 30-year-old completed a majestic seven-shot victory in Doha on Saturday - his second European tour title, but his first over the full 72-hole distance. When he won the 1996 Catalan Open the event was cut to two rounds because of gale-force winds.

Lawrie, £102,000 richer and now 14th in the Ryder Cup table, partnered Andrew Coltart in the World Cup of Golf in South Africa in 1996. "We were third and I finished fourth best individual, so having done that I'd really like to play in the Dunhill Cup," said Lawrie who was 20 under par.

Over the four rounds, the last two of them windswept again, Lawrie, in his first tournament of the season, had 23 birdies and just three bogeys - and this a week after he missed the cut in the Dubai Desert Classic by eight shots with three birdies and 13 bogeys.

His domination was such that he could have taken 11 on the par five closing hole and still succeeded Coltart as champion.

Even 24-handicappers would fancy their chances of doing that but only last month Lawrie was playing in a North-East of Scotland Alliance at Buckpool and showed that top players do suffer nightmares.

"I blasted three balls out of bounds on the ninth and came off the hole with a 10," he recalled. Amazingly, he still shot a 66 and won the first prize - a mere £100.

Hardly able to sleep on Friday night as he sat on a five-shot lead, started the final round shakily. But he then hit a pitch to two feet on the fourth and had four successive birdies around the turn to leave the rest playing for second place. Welshman Phil Price and Dane Soren Kjeldsen shared second, while Paul McGinley was best of the Irish with a total of 283.