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My Shot Nothing changes the life of a touring pro more than winning a major championship

I had been playing well all season--I won the Qatar Masters in
February--but no one seemed to notice me until my victory in the
Open Championship in July. When I beat Justin Leonard and Jean
Van de Velde in a four-hole playoff at Carnoustie, my life was
turned upside down.

I don't know if my older son, Craig Robert, 4 1/2, understands
what I did--he still kisses the television when I come on--but a
lot of other people seem to. I used to hear people say, "There's
Paul Lawrie," as I walked past. Now they come up with slips of
paper and ask me to sign. I get asked for autographs more in the
U.S. than back home in Aberdeen, Scotland, where I'm one of two
touring pros. (Scott Henderson is the other.)

Aberdeen is not a huge place (population 218,000), and just
about everybody there knew who I was before the Open. Only now
they're going ballistic. My wife, Marian, and I went shopping
recently, and suddenly the store was filled with people. It was
fantastic. The press and everyone else are worried that I'm
going to play in the U.S. full time, and wonder if I'm going to
continue to live in Aberdeen. Trust me, I'll always live in
Aberdeen, where I was born. I also plan to continue to play the
European tour. My schedule may have changed--by winning the
Open, I got into the PGA, two World Golf Championship events,
the Ryder and Dunhill Cups, the Grand Slam, the Million Dollar
Challenge and the World Match Play at Wentworth--but I won't
change.

Marian, who was at home with our newborn, Michael, during the
Open, taped the tournament, and I've watched it a half-dozen
times. The official tape has just arrived, and I look forward to
seeing it when I get home. In a few years Craig Robert will
watch it with me, and by then we'll both have a better
understanding of what I've done.

Paul Lawrie finished 21st at the NEC Invitational.

COLOR PHOTO: JIM GUND