Paul Lawrie warns golfers could be blown off course by Gleneagles weather

Severe weather warnings could have an impact on the golf tournament.

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Golf star Paul Lawrie (GBR) has issued a 'severe weather warning' ahead of the European Team Championships at the Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course. With high winds and heavy rain forecast for the Perthshire venue at the weekend, Glasgow 2018 golf ambassador Lawrie predicts the conditions could have a big impact on the tournament, which takes place from 8-12 August.

"Gleneagles is pretty high-up, 6-700 feet above sea level, so it can get cool quickly," said Lawrie. "Changeable weather doesn't suit everyone and whoever can adapt and cope with different playing conditions will do well.

“Some areas of the course are pretty exposed to wind and control of ball flight will become key in such circumstances.”

The Open Championship winner, from Carnoustie in 1999, knows from personal experience that the Gleneagles course contains enough hazards without intervention from inclement weather. "Driving it well is important at PGA Centenary - although it's pretty generous off the tee," he said. "Getting the ball in the right spots for approach shots is important to allow you to score.

"Four and five are two tough holes and walking away at par off both of these is a decent result. The par 3 fourth can play extremely long as it's uphill, often in to the wind and they have options to play from tees a long way back. Five is a tight driving hole if you want to get the ball a good way up to ease the approach. It's an easier lay-up, but the second shot is a lot tougher from around the 200 yard mark.

"They changed the green around the 18th for the Ryder Cup in 2014 and it's a much tougher approach now than it used to be. They introduced big run-off areas and changed the bunkers so it's a more demanding hole now."

Lawrie has a victory to his name at the Centenary Course and, but for injury, had hoped to be involved in the European Team Championships.

"The course holds a lot of good memories for me,” he said. "I won Johnnie Walker in 2012 to guarantee my place in the Ryder Cup team, and played some very controlled golf that week.

"This tournament is a really exciting, innovative format and, unfortunately for me, being sidelined by injury at the moment means I didn’t have the opportunity to qualify to play. I'd have loved to have had the chance. It'll be really interesting to see how it all unfolds and I think the mixed event will be very entertaining."