Lawrie's new look British Open winner baked and ready for PGA Click here for more on this story Posted: Tuesday August 10, 1999 05:04 PM   Paul Lawrie will make his U.S. debut at the PGA Championship. Paul SevernAllsport MEDINAH, Illinois (AP)-- Don't worry if Paul Lawrie is looking a little more shriveled and red than when he hoisted the claret jug at the British Open. No, he's not wilting under the pressure of his newfound fame. Are you kidding? This signing autographs thing and getting recognized by fans is a blast. Not to mention the new house he bought with his winnings. The wrinkled look is a career move. "I've been in the sauna and stuff last week when I was home every day," he said Tuesday. "Normally, I'm pretty poor in the humidity. I thought I'd do some baking and try to get my body used to the heat and sun." While other golfers finished their pre-PGA Championship workouts with one more bucket of balls at the driving range or another 15 minutes on the putting green, Lawrie was kicking back at his health club in Aberdeen, Scotland, reading the paper and sweating. "My coach suggested that I try to do something like that, which I thought was a pretty good thing to do," he said. "Really, I thought it was a good idea, so I went along with it." Wacky ideas have worked out for Lawrie before. He was just another tour player a month ago, a guy who had to qualify for the British Open, until Frenchman Jean Van de Velde's bizarre triple bogey on the 18th hole. That put Lawrie in a playoff with Van de Velde and Justin Leonard. Lawrie birdied the last two holes of the four-hole playoff, becoming the first Scot in 68 years to win the British Open on his native soil. Starting the final round 10 strokes behind, he now owns the largest comeback in major championship history. "A fairy story," he called it then. The last 3 1/2 weeks have been pretty fun, too. He and his wife, Marian, bought a new house -- "We were going to move anyway. But with the Open win our price went up a little bit." -- and people now stop him for autographs. He's gettng to see more of the world, too. Though he's been to Orlando, Florida, four or five times to work with swing guru David Leadbetter, the PGA Championship will be the first tournament he's ever played in the United States. But he's not here to play tourist, not after baking himself that long in the sauna. A European has never won the PGA Championship -- fellow Scot Tommy Armour won in 1930, but he was a U.S. citizen by then -- but Lawrie said there are plenty in this week's field who can challenge for the title. Scotland's Colin Montgomerie has been playing well, and England's Lee Westwood always comes through on tough courses, Lawrie said. And then, of course, there's the British Open champion. "The Open's a few weeks ago now," he said. "It's time to get back down to work. It's obviously been fantastic and everyone was kind of shocked that I won, which is fair enough. It's no problem now, but I'm looking forward to getting going. "It's a good thing to look ahead, really."   Related information Stories Hole-by-Hole Flyovers of Medinah Player Profiles PGA Championship takes center stage as final major of '99 Multimedia Click here for the latest audio and video Search our site Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV. Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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