Thriston Lawrence has been an elite player in world terms for a long time, but he announced his arrival in no uncertain terms on Sunday as he finished fourth in the Open Championship at Royal Troon.
His bogey-free front nine of four-under-par 32 put him in the lead at seven-under-par, and, while perplexed journalists used the trite labels ‘unexpected’ and ‘surprising’ amongst others, the reality could have been expressed by a fashionable South African sporting rallying cry, ‘They don’t know what we know’ (Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie).
The hopelessly inadequate Official World Golf Ranking list (and the even more laughable The Universal Golf Ranking) constantly undervalue performances and performers outside the United States, so even looking at those metrics was of no use to anybody who didn’t know Lawrence.
They know him now.
“I am very proud of my patience this week, very proud I did it in front of all those people on a stage that I’ve never played in front of, so just very proud of myself,” said Lawrence, who is a four-time winner on the DP World Tour, and a South African Open Championship winner.
“The mindset was to try and stay as composed as possible, try and stay calm, try and stick to the game plan,” he added. “I think I did pretty well out there. I didn’t actually put myself under the pressure that some people are supposed to. I just looked at it as a normal Sunday of a normal golf tournament. Yes, it is The Open, it is a bigger stage. But being in that moment, I felt so calm. It felt like a normal Sunday, me trying to win a golf tournament, trying to be creative, and I managed to accomplish that. So I’m very proud of myself.”
He dared to start dreaming after his superb front nine of 30 in benign conditions in the third round. As things got tougher on Saturday for the leaders, he found himself lying second heading into the final round.
And he grasped that opportunity with birdies on three, four, seven and nine. More than that, he gave himself chances, which was what was required as the eventual winner, Xander Schauffele, was piecing together a bogey-free 65. And it was what was required while Justin Rose was making an emotionally charged effort to win in front of adoring fans so close to home. And it was what was required as playing partner Billy Horschel was hanging on for dear life in an attempt to win a tournament which could have redefined him as a player.
Despite that pressure, Lawrence didn’t buckle. “It’s like any other tournament,” he said. “Once you’re in the lead you always think about winning. But teeing up today, that was my mindset, going out there to try and win. So being in the lead or being one or two shots back doesn’t change the mindset or game plan or anything. Like I said, it’s a normal Sunday, and yeah, it’s The Open Championship, my first final group in a major, first top 10 in a major, but still, a tournament, just a bigger tournament, more iconic tournament.”
The tiniest crack in his resolve appeared on the 12th, as he pushed his approach right of the green. His chip from 28 yards ended up 13 feet short of the pin, and, for once, his putter which had been so reliable, left him just outside a foot from the hole and he made bogey.
But that was it: For the remainder of the championship, he kept giving himself chances. But no-one was going to catch Schauffele as he made four birdies without dropping a shot on the homeward nine to take his second major championship of the year.
One thing’s for sure: no-one will call a stunning Thriston Lawrence performance ‘unexpected’ again.
