Paul Lawrie sets sights on 'really good weekend' in his bid for rare Claret Jug double

Only Bob Charles, Gary Player and Tom Watson had achieved the feat before Darren Clarke joined the select club with his Senior Open success at Gleneagles three years ago.

It would be a tremendous achievement if Lawrie, the 1999 Open champion, could add his name to the list and, after opening with scores of 69-67 to sit on four under at the halfway stage, he’s certainly in with a chance of landing the over-50s’ Claret Jug on Sunday.

“It depends what the score gets to today,” said the Aberdonian as Dane Thomas Bjorn carded a second-round 73 set the clubhouse target on seven under before Padraig Harrington secured the halfway lead on eight under.

“I’d imagine that they would stretch a wee bit ahead, so it’s going to be at least eight under, if not a bit more. But you are there or thereabouts. A really good weekend and you never know.”

In his opening round at the Berkshire venue, Lawrie had been four under and bogey-free with four holes to play before finishing double bogey-birdie-bogey bogey. In contrast, he was four under for the last eight holes in the second circuit, signing off with a good par save.

“The last couple of years, I’ve been struggling with finishing rounds off,” admitted the 56-year-old. “I’ve got myself in good positions most days I’ve played, but I have really struggled for coming in, for some reason.

“And that wasn’t on my mind yesterday before I struggled to come in again. Then today was the opposite, I kind of finished strongly. It’s golf, isn’t it? Sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it doesn’t.

‘Today I didn’t have any destructive shots’

“But one under yesterday felt, oh man, at least two or three shots more than I should have been. But golf gives you the good and gives you the bad, so, overall, four under, we are alright there.

“I think I played far better yesterday and only shot one under. That’s just the way it is. Just played solid today, never hit off line today after hitting a couple of dodgy shots coming in yesterday and you are going to struggle to make bogey from the two shots I hit. Today I didn’t have any destructive shots, just hit it pretty straight and played nice.”

Stephen Gallacher is also handily placed at four under, while other Scots to make the cut iwere David Drysdale, Colin Montgomerie and Euan McIntosh on even par.