Lawrie tips send Choi soaring at Carnoustie

CARNOUSTIE (Reuters) - South Korean KJ Choi made light of tough links conditions in the British Open second round on Friday, saying a master class in 1999 from then Carnoustie winner Paul Lawrie had boosted his game.

Choi, aiming to become the first Asian winner of a major, fired a two-under 69 to close within two shots of Spanish leader Sergio Garcia on four under overall.

The Korean has been in electric form in the completely different conditions of the PGA Tour in the U.S., winning two of his three previous events.

Choi, 36, conceded he was a novice on seaside links courses before closely observing Briton Lawrie when they were paired together for the third round eight years ago.

He slumped to a 10-over-par 81 and fell out of contention but learned valuable lessons from the Scot.

"Back in 1999 my shots were very weak in the wind," Choi told a news conference.

"When I played with Paul I actually learned a lot from him because I saw how he used the ball, used the wind to work for him.

"I think it was a good lesson for me. Coming into this week I knew how to use the wind to my advantage."

Lawrie failed to make the cut himself on Thursday, missing the target of four over by one after a double-bogey at the last.

Choi's British caddie, Andy Prodger, who guided Nick Faldo to the claret jug in 1987, said Choi had the armory to win on a course alien to his native Korea or the U.S.

"He's become a better player than before. He changed his swing which wasn't good previously but now his technique is 10-fold better," said Prodger.

"His mind feels he can win a major. Those two wins in America have confirmed he can win a major.

"Maybe this week ... we'll see but it's a long way to go. But he has the skill to win this tournament, that's for sure."

Apart from Choi, Asians at the British Open mainly found the going too tough.

Singapore's Chih Bing Lam (153), Koreans Seung-ho Lee (153) and Yong-eun Yang (152), and Japanese trio Achi Sato (149), Toshimitsu Izawa (148) and Hideto Tanihara (149) all missed the cut.

Toru Taniguchi of Japan, however, secured his place for the weekend at two over.