Golf: US Tour win makes Martin Laird top Scot

Published on Monday 19 October 2009 13:54

US-based Martin Laird became Scotland's top golfer today after recording his maiden PGA Tour victory in Las Vegas.

But a leap from 237th to 108th on the rankings has not taken the 26-year-old from Glasgow - the first Scot to win on the American circuit since Sandy Lyle in 1988 - any nearer to qualifying for the Ryder Cup.

Laird would have gone into sixth place on Europe's world points list if he was a European Tour member – but he isn't.

So Colin Montgomerie's stated wish that he would "love to be able to captain a Scot in Wales next year" remains a long-shot.

Not that Laird will be concerning himself with that for a second at the moment after hitting the jackpot in Las Vegas.

He was still trying to get into the PGA Tour's top 125 to keep his card for next season when he arrived for the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open.

But now he is up from 134th to 62nd and has an exemption through to the end of 2011 after capturing the $756,000 (463,000) first prize at the third hole of a play-off against Chad Campbell and George McNeill.

Laird, in only his second full season on the circuit, was one ahead with two to play, but then failed to get up and down from over the green at the short 17th.

He had to make an 11-foot par putt to tie with the two Americans on 19 under par, saw Campbell eliminated with a bogey at the second extra hole and, with two putts for it from 10 feet, birdied the next after McNeill had bogeyed.

"When I got into the play-off I was surprised – I kind of chilled out a little," he said before receiving the trophy from Timberlake.

Laird's only two tournaments in Europe so far have been this year's Scottish Open and Open Championship. He came 10th at Loch Lomond, but missed the cut at Turnberry – in fact, he has missed the cut in all three majors he has played.

His win does not earn him a Masters debut next April. Although the Augusta National Club re-introduced an exemption for US Tour winners two years ago, it does not apply to events after the Tour Championship in September.

Laird turned professional in the States in 2004 after taking a marketing degree at Colorado State University.

"It wasn't something that as a kid I said I wanted to play the PGA Tour," he commented.

"When I first went to college I had ambitions of turning pro, but I wasn't good enough and it was a case of see how I go over the next four years.

"You can make some money playing mini tours when you first turn pro and have no status anywhere. I won a couple mini-tours events and went to the qualifying school.

"My game is probably more suited to playing in America, but who knows where I would be right now if I hadn't made it through."

He earned a Nationwide Tour card rather than a full PGA Tour one, but graduated from that in 2007 and has now earned over $2million – over half of that in his last four starts as he was tied second in the Reno-Tahoe Open in August.

Yet this season began with eight missed cuts out of nine and by the last week of April he had picked up less than $12,000.

• COLIN Montgomerie today congratulated his compatriot on what he described as "a fantastic win", adding: "I am delighted for him.

"His win is a great boost for Scottish golf after a slightly lean period and it is always good for European golf to have winners on the US PGA Tour. He has certainly made himself one to watch over the coming months."