Laird left handily placed behind Glover with opening 67 in Hawaii

SCOTLAND'S Martin Laird got his PGA Tour season off to a flying start in Hawaii and immediately targeted a place in Europe's Ryder Cup team in ten months.

Laird ended the opening day a shot behind first-round leader Lucas Glover at the SBS Championship at the Kapalua Resort's Plantation Course in a 28-player season-opening field restricted to last year's US Tour event winners.

The Glaswegian, who landed his maiden professional victory at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas last October, sank seven birdies and one bogey on the par-73, 7,411-yard course for a six-under-par 67.

Laird, who turned 28 nine days ago, has played his entire career in the United States having turned professional in 2004 after graduating from Colorado State University and he admitted he had not met 2010 Ryder Cup captain and fellow Scot Colin Montgomerie.

He does, however, intend to put that right ahead of this October's matches against the USA at Celtic Manor in south Wales.

"I've never met Monty but hopefully I will get to know him pretty well this year and really well in Wales in September," Laird said.

US Open champion Glover, one of the four major winners playing this week, birdied the last to take the outright lead with an opening 66.

Americans Nick Watney and Dustin Johnson made it a five-way tie for second alongside Laird, Green and Kuchar, with Open champion Stewart Cink, Masters winner Angel Cabrera and US duo Sean O'Hair and John Rollins all on five under following 68s.