The Paul Lawrie Match Play presented by Petsure brings a new format to the schedule and one which the players are excited about.
Number 3 seed Angel Cabrera will play Scott Drummond and the top seed, Ian Woosnam takes on Simon Griffiths in the first round.
Our host, Paul Lawrie, conducted the draw for the opening round, which sees the 1999 and 2012 Ryder Cup player facing Gary Marks on Thursday.
“The Tour approached me a while ago and asked if I would do it and I thought it would be great to have a match play on the Tour.
“I think everyone is looking forward to it, I certainly am – I love match play.
I’ve never felt as though I was a great player or a good player, but when I get in certain situations in match play, no matter how good a player I’m playing, I always feel as though I’m going to come out on top. You know, it’s quite an aggressive way of playing, and I quite like that. I like standing there and the guy might be a higher ranked player than you, but you’ve only got 18 holes to take him down. You’ve not got the whole week to try and take him down. It’s just one game of golf. I’ve always enjoyed that format, it’s a bit cutthroat.
“You must have a game plan for the golf course, but when you get into the back nine of a match play game and your mind’s maybe a wee bit all over the place, your job is to get the ball in the hole! You’re playing them, you’re not playing the course anymore.
“You need the risk and reward for match play and I think this golf course has got that. The greens are excellent, the whole course is in great shape and if you hit the ball in line with the putter, it’s going to go in this week because the greens are pure. I think everyone’s enjoying that.”
David Lynn is making his debut on the Legends Tour, having turned 50 late last year. The Englishman hasn’t played in a Tour event for more than nine years but is looking forward to meeting up with old friends and the challenge ahead this week as well as the rest of the season.
He is a two-time winner on the DP World Tour and was runner-up to Rory McIlroy in the 2012 US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, but he walked away from the game at the end of 2014 and has been focussing on his property development business – returning now to a professional golf event for the first time since then.
“I arrived about 20 minutes ago and I think I’ve shaken about 30 hands already, because it’s been nine and a half years since I’ve stepped foot on a course to play a golf tournament. It’s,
very strange at the minute.
“We’ve obviously all shared the fairways over the years, but I’ve not been here for a while
in this position, at a tournament so it’s very strange.”
David plays against José Coceres of Argentina in Thursday’s opening round and it’s a bit like starting all over again:
“I’m expecting to feel a few nerves when I get going again tomorrow, but it is nice to start with match play, so that I haven’t got a pencil in my hand!
“For the last nine and a half years I’ve probably averaged about 12 rounds of golf,
with very little practice. I haven’t done any kind of proper practice other than I went and hit two baskets of balls last week! I’m relying heavily on muscle memory.
I mean, it’s a no-lose situation really, for me – see a few old faces, try and get the juices going again, try to enjoy it and then we’ll see where we go from there.”
Simon Khan is on home soil at Hanbury Manor. He’ll be one of the favoured players for his comfort levels on this course, however, in match play it is playing the opponent as much as it is playing the golf course. Simon faces Spain’s Santiago Luna in round one.
Among the other matches former Ryder Cup player Peter Baker, winner of the MCB Road to Mauritius title last year and already a winner in 2024 at the Barbados Legends, will play Frenchman Marc Farry, while Niclas Fasth faces Phillip Holding, and Phillip Price will take on Andrew Oldcorn.
England’s Phillip Archer faces former Ryder Cup player David Gilford who played in the European teams in 1991 and 1995, but Archer is keen on this different challenge this week:
“You’ve just got to play your own game. You can’t all the time though, sometimes you’ve got to react to what your opponent does, so it’s a different kind of game.
It’s a nice break from stroke play events, but nobody’s played a lot of it – I played a lot in team stuff back in the day when it was in the PGA Cup team, that was really good fun.
“It’s a good, fun format, but obviously it gets a little bit intense playing against each other.”
Last week’s winner on the Legends Tour, Clark Dennis, is also in the field at Hanbury Manor. The American spent Monday sightseeing around the Acropolis in Athens after his four-shot victory in the Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy.
He’s up for another good week and plays Peter Fowler in his opening match.
“You know, I haven’t played match play probably since the U.S. amateur when I was a kid, so it’ll be interesting. I think you just play your game and if you play well, you’re going to have a chance to win. You might lose and play well, you might play average and win, so match play is just a different animal!
“Hanbury is kind of my second home, I love Hanbury – it’s a great hotel and a fun golf course, it’s always in great shape and we always enjoy coming here.”
Tickets are available now at legendstour.com/tickets for an online price of £15 (gate entry prices £25).
For a full list of the opening round of matches please go to https://www.legendstour.com
In celebration of the Paul Lawrie Match Play being presented by Petsure at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club, spectators are encouraged to bring their pet dogs to the event this week so that man’s best friend can also enjoy the week.
Dog owners must be aware of some rules in place for those attending with their pets:
• This is a dog friendly event, but they must be well mannered and always kept on the lead around the golf course.
• We will provide a designated off-the-lead run zone, shaded areas and water stations to keep them happy, but unfortunately, they won’t be allowed in the buildings at Hanbury Manor.
• Your dog’s welfare is your own responsibility so please ensure you seek shade in warm weather and ensure they’re comfortable in their surroundings.
• For their own safety, if the weather forecast is very hot, we may need to stop dogs from coming to the event. We will let you know via email in advance if this is the case.
• Oh, and don’t let them chase after golf balls on the course!
We will have some extra-special pet friendly things going on, thanks to Petsure who can help with all your pet insurance questions.
There’s plenty of activities including:
• Agility course
• Enrichment activities
• Dog behaviourist
• FREE puppycino’s
• Chance to win a dog photographic session worth £500!
The Paul Lawrie Match Play presented by Petsure at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel and Country Club runs from Thursday June 13 to Sunday June 16.
