European Tour Member and PGA Professional, Paul Lawrie, has received the 5 Star Professional Award from the Confederation of Professional Golf in recognition of his contribution to the profession over a wide range of areas of expertise and activity.
Lawrie was nominated by the PGA in Scotland and selected by the Confederation of Professional Golf’s award selection committee based on his work and representation as a PGA Professional, his work in developing the Paul Lawrie Foundation, along with his playing successes across the years, and was acknowledged for his award at the Association’s Gala Awards Dinner at Gloria Hotels & Resorts in Turkey.
“I’d like to thank everyone at the PGA in Scotland for nominating me,” explained Lawrie, who received the award at the PGA of Great Britain & Ireland’s Annual Lunch shortly after the Annual Congress. “I learned a tremendous amount in my early days in the PGA from Sandy Jones and Peter Lloyd on the role of not only a Club Professional but how to be a successful touring professional.”
Lawrie began his PGA training in 1986 and subsequently joined the European Tour in 1992 where he has since taken seven titles, most recently the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in 2012. He has also had two appearances in the European Ryder Cup Team, along with perhaps his crowning glory of a major championship with his Open Championship win at Carnoustie in 1999.
But his tournament play was not the only reason he was selected by the committee – as the PGA of Scotland would attest to, Lawrie has never forgotten his roots having worked hard to develop elements of both the amateur and professional games.
Lawrie has developed a golf centre in his name, supported the Ladies Tartan Tour in Scotland, but perhaps most significantly created the Paul Lawrie Foundation in 2001. His foundation aims to get as many young people playing golf and enjoying it, with aspirations to create the touring professionals of the future. The Foundation has steadily grown over time developing a number of programmes, and has been supported by the Ryder Cup European Development Trust along the way.
“I’d also like to thank the Ryder Cup European Development Trust for being a massive part of our Foundation, which has been on the go since 2001 and teaches kids not only about golf, but about how to behave, speak and how to play; it’s all extremely important.”
The Foundation also supports a number of Professionals in the UK playing on tours such as the Ladies European Tour, Challenge Tour, and Euro Pro Tour, and Lawrie himself has continued to support the Ladies Tartan Tour and various PGA in Scotland events, in particular the Paul Lawrie Invitational played since 2011 giving young Professionals, top amateurs and seasoned campaigners a quality tournament with a significant prize fund.
“Through all of these contributions to the game of golf, Paul has proven himself to be a role model for golfers of all ages and both genders,” stated the PGA in Scotland as part of their nomination. “We are proud to support his nomination for the Confederation of Professional Golf 5-Star Professional Award and wish him and his Foundation continued success in the future as well.”
For more information on the Paul Lawrie Foundation visit www.paullawriefoundation.co.uk.
For More Information On All of 2015’s Award Winners Visit http://eur.pe/2015AnnualCongress
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For more information and news visit the Annual Congress Hub Page (http://eur.pe/2015AnnualCongress), follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#AnnualCongress’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.
The 2015 Annual Congress and Gala Awards Dinner are supported by Rolex and the Ryder Cup European Development Trust and hosted by Gloria Hotels & Resorts – for more information on the event partners visit http://eur.pe/2015AnnualCongress.
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