Thriston Lawrence gains confidence from first major contention despite late stumble
- Planet Sport writer
- 22 July 2024
South African Thriston Lawrence was proud of the way he handled his first experience of being in contention in a major despite a disappointing finish.
The 27-year-old's aggressive approach saw him shoot four birdies in a front nine of 32 which lifted him to seven under and into a one-stroke lead playing in the final group alongside Billy Horschel in the fourth round of the Open.
However, Royal Troon's homeward nine is the tougher of the two and Lawrence discovered that as he only managed eight pars and a bogey as he fell back and ultimately finished fourth, three shots behind champion Xander Schauffele.
"The mindset was to try to stay as composed as possible, try to stick to the game plan," said Lawrence, whose highest finish in his two previous Opens was joint 42nd at St Andrews two years ago.
"I'm 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.
"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. So being in the lead or being one or two shots back doesn't change the mindset or game plan or anything."
