Martin Laird runs up seven at 17th in sore Sawgrass finish for Scot

Iconic hole at Florida venue claims another tartan victim after Russell Knox made nine in 2016

Scotland's Martin Laird pictured coming off the ninth green in the final round of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. Picture: National World

Martin Laird now knows exactly how compatriot Russell Knox felt to run up a costly score on the iconic 17th hole on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.

Eight years after local resident Knox ran up a quintuple-bogey nine there in The Players Championship after hitting three balls in the water, it claimed another Scottish victim in the final round of the 50th anniversary of the PGA Tour’s flagship event.

After making seven birdies in his opening 16 holes, Laird was nine-under-par for the tournament when he arrived on the tee before seeing his 14th appearance in the tournament end on a bitterly disappointing note.

The 41-year-old saw his first attempt to hit the green go into the water at the back of the green before coming up short of the putting surface with his next attempt from the drop zone.

He ended up making a seven – his second on the back nine after a double bogey at the 11th – and followed that with a closing bogey, leaving him having to settle for a one-over 73 and a two-under total. It meant he was set to finish outside the top after having been on course to even end up in the top 30.

In an event offering a prize pot of $25 million, it was a costly 20 or so minutes for the four-time PGA Tour winner, who, perhaps understandably, left the course without speaking to anyone.

Once he’s stopped hurting, though, the Milngavie man will be able to take lots of positives from his week, his putting performance in particular. In this closing effort, he rolled in a 50-footer for a 2 at the eighth before converting another birdie from 34 feet at the par-5 ninth.

After struggling with an injury in the first half of last season, Laird finished joint-second in the 3M Open and came into this event on the back of two top-ten finishes in three starts.

Earlier in the week, Ryder Cup star Justin Rose missed the cut after also taking seven at the 17th in the second round.