His putter deserted him just a little on Sunday, but Thriston Lawrence still finished second in the DP World Tour’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at the Belfry with his closing two-under-par 70.
Lawrence ended up on 14-under-par for the tournament, two strokes behind the winner, Niklaas Norgaard, and his performance had boosted him to second in the Race to Dubai standings.
With just Rory McIlroy ahead of him, he can dare to dream about a miraculous victory in the DP World Tour Championship taking him to the top of that list, but, perhaps more importantly, he can probably start planning his schedule for next year on the PGA Tour. He almost certainly will not be denied one of the 10 cards DP World Tour players can earn.
Lawrence will rue his bogeys on nine and, more particularly, on the par-three 12th, where he two-putted from inside two feet. Also, he made just par on the par-five 15th after messing up his second from a fairway bunker. That was while Norgaard was making a double-bogey to open the door for Lawrence, who shook his head in frustration after two-putting from inside 23 feet.
But it was only his second week back after an injury-enforced break, and, with a win on the Sunshine Tour under his belt, as well as coming so close at the Belfry, he will be well-pleased with his form as the DP World Tour heads towards its climax in November.
Brandon Stone came 12th after a difficult weekend was rounded out with a closing one-over-par 73, and Pieter Moolman had a one-under 71 to finish in a share of 33rd. Dylan Frittelli was in 39th after he finished with a two-over 74, and Thomas Aiken shared that position with him with his closing 71. Justin Walters also had a closing 71 and was in a share of 53rd. George Coetzee closed with a level-par 72 and was in a share of 68th.
