Paul Lawrie was today savouring his selection as a European Ryder Cup vice-captain – and admitted he’ll be seeking out the experience and wisdom of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Lawrie, who played in the Ryder Cups of 1999 and 2012, was called in to Darren Clarke’s backroom team for September’s match with the USA at Hazeltine along with Padraig Harrington and Thomas Bjorn.

Govan great Sir Alex spoke to Europe’s Ryder Cup team ahead of the 2014 match at Gleneagles in an appearance that Rory McIlroy later admitted left him “in a trance”.

And Lawrie is now looking to pick the brains of the former Manchester United and Aberdeen manager as he prepares for his own stint in the team room.

He said: “I’ll definitely be seeking Sir Alex out. He’s actually coming up to my Foundation dinner on August 10 so I’m hoping to catch him before or after that and ask him a few bits and pieces and have a good sit down. All the players who he spoke to at Gleneagles got so much out of him. Obviously I’ll speak to Sam Torrance too. He was a vice captain in 1999 when I made my debut and I got a lot out of him then. There are a lot of people I want to sit down with and have a chat.”

Having missed out on the 2014 match in Scotland, Lawrie is relishing the prospect of returning to the cut-and-thrust of the Ryder Cup.

And the former Open champ, 47, is hoping his stint as a right-hand man can help him become the European captain in the future.

Lawrie added: “It’s happened in the past where the captain has been picked from being a vice-captain. There’s not really been a captain who has gone in without having some kind of backroom role.

“Having played in 2012 at Medinah I was pretty disappointed not be involved at all at Gleneagles. If I’m ever going to be a captain then I have to be a vice-captain and for Darren to give me that role is brilliant.”