IF you're heading for Gleneagles next week to take in the sights, sounds and possibly the smells of the Ryder Cup, be prepared for a well-kent figure amid the throng roaring his lungs dry.

"I'm a pretty big shouter at Pittodrie, I get right into it and I'll be giving it all of that at Gleneagles," said that Dandy Don, Paul Lawrie, ahead of his cheerleading role for Team Europe in the biennial battle with the USA on Scottish turf. You can't really imagine Lawrie being a 'get in the hole' bellower. It may be more 'foos yer doos' than 'you're the man'. Whatever the holler, Lawrie will be giving his full-hearted support to the European cause.

A two-time cup campaigner himself, and a key member of the side that pulled off the Miracle of Medinah in 2012, the 45-year-old's fitness and form over the past couple of seasons scuppered his ambitions of making a playing appearance in the first Ryder Cup in Scotland since 1973. He had hoped to be part of Europe captain Paul McGinley's backroom team but the offer was not forthcoming and Lawrie's disappointment was clear. The former Open champion is not going to moap about the house and mutter at the tele every time McGinley pops up on the screen, however.

Traipsing around and watching the drama unfold from the sidelines will be a million miles away from the cut-and-thrust of the all-consuming, competitive experience that Lawrie has tasted for himself.

The Scot is determined to enjoy the occasion, though, even if his response to be asked what it will feel like to be an outsider peering in was a downbeat, "nae great."

Ahead of this week's ISPS Handa Wales Open at Celtic Manor, Lawrie added: "It will feel a bit weird. Obviously I wanted to play but I can't, so I just have to look forward to watching and I'll be pulling for all the boys."

One of those boys, of course, is Stephen Gallacher. It will be a step into the unknown for this Ryder Cup rookie but Lawrie is confident that his countryman will revel in the spotlight. "You've got to experience the nerves of a Ryder Cup to know what it's like but he'll deal with it," said Lawrie. "He knows what it's all about. Having said that, he has to magnify those experiences by 10, just to get an idea of the feelings he'll experience. But the crowd will help.

"He'll know that most of them are there to watch him. The first time he plays will be amazing. The place will be bouncing."

As a rookie at Brookline back in 1999, Lawrie had the knee-knocking honour of battering away the very first tee-shot in partnership with Colin Montgomerie. It was all part of the Ryder Cup crash course.

"I remember when I played practice rounds with Monty, he said that it all happens pretty quickly," noted Lawrie. "You have to . . . not slow down exactly but just take your time and make your decisions deliberately because everything goes by so quickly in that event.

"Stevie will know all that. He doesn't need me to tell him. He'll love it, absolutely love it. There are a few moments when you think, 'Oh, I'm not so sure about this', but it goes quickly. He'll just have a ball of a time, especially with the crowd."

Let us hope Lawrie will be given plenty to shout about.