Thriston Lawrence sets sights on Kenya triumph amid Presidents Cup and major goals
![Thriston Lawrence at the International Open in 2023](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.planetsport.com%2Fimage-library%2Fland%2F700%2F1228131_thriston-lawrence-at-the-international-open-2023.webp&w=3840&q=75)
South Africa's Thriston Lawrence is hoping for another strong performance in the Magical Kenya Open to boost his bid to achieve some lofty goals this season.
Lawrence has his sights set on representing his country in the Paris Olympics, earning a Presidents Cup debut and competing in more major championships in 2024 after contesting the US PGA, US Open and Open Championship last year.
A fifth DP World Tour title since November 2021 would go some way to achieving those aims and Lawrence will be buoyed by finishing runner-up on his tournament debut at Muthaiga Golf Club in 2022.
"I like the course," Lawrence said. "It's a bit softer than the last time we played but I grew up on golf courses like this.
"It's quite tree-lined, a lot of dog-legs, the greens are fairly smooth, which helps for me as a decent iron player.
"If you hit the middle of the green, you're not going to have the longest putts. I really like it and I'm looking forward to the week."
Lawrence began 2024 with second place behind Tommy Fleetwood in the Dubai Invitational but then missed the cut in his next two events before returning to action with a tie for 49th in the Qatar Masters.
"We try and forget about the last performance and focus on a new one," the world number 87 added.
"Good performances do help and give you momentum, but straight after Dubai I missed two cuts in a row by one shot. It feels like I'm in the best of form but not the best of momentum after the last few weeks, especially having a week off last week.
"But I need to try and stick to my game-plan and hopefully that works. It helps playing with a winner's category, knowing I'm into every single week there's less pressure on my side to make too big a deal of it coming down the stretch.
"But it still doesn't get easier, no matter what Tour it is or what tournament it is. Every week from now is very important.
"There's Presidents Cup, Olympics, majors coming up on the schedule. The last couple of weeks weren't the best performances for those goals, but I want to have a lot of decent performances going forward."
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