Martin Laird believes Scottish win would top his US successes

But even that would pale into insignificance for Martin Laird if the Arizona-based Glaswegian returned home next month and was crowned as the Barclays Scottish Open champion at Castle Stuart.

"I was telling someone the other day that the Scottish Open is like a fifth major for me," said the 28-year-old during a teleconference ahead of his appearance in this year's event near Inverness on 7-10 July. "Outside the majors that's the event I'd like to win most as there would be nothing better for me than to taste success in front of a home crowd."

Laird, the world No 25, gave a good account of himself in two appearances in the 3 million event when it was staged at Loch Lomond, finishing tenth on his debut in 2009 then 26th last year.

He added: "Until Bay Hill, where everything was a blur after I'd won - I can't even remember my winning putt going in - my first Scottish Open was the most fun I had playing a golf tournament as I don't often have people cheering for me over here (in the States]," he observed.

Though the Hilton Park man may not have such a big fan club in the Highlands, he's looking forward to a new challenge on the banks of the Moray Firth and is confident the high ball flight that has served him so well on the PGA Tour over the past couple of years can be adapted for a links test.

"Hitting punches and controlling my ball flight was the one shot I struggled with but it is something my coach and I have worked hard on over the last couple of years and it has really improved a lot," he said, noting that a number of US events this year, including The Colonial, where he finished tenth, had required a lot of low shots to be played due to windy conditions.

"It (playing links golf] takes a bit of getting used to and you almost hope it is windy in the practice rounds so that you can get a feel for the shots.

"It's not just about keeping the ball down but shaping it left to right, right to left. Four or five years ago I could only really hit a cut, I couldn't hit a draw.But now I feel more comfortable playing those shots."

Last year's Dunhill Links, in which he finished fifth behind Martin Kaymer, convinced Laird he can still handle a seaside test, even though chasing the American dream has completely changed his style of play since he won the Scottish Youths' Championship eight years ago.

He said: "It was a big thing for me to show I can still play links golf (he'd missed the cut in the Open Championship over the Old Course earlier in the year) and now I'm looking forward to coming back to Scotland again to play those shots I don't get the chance to play very often."

Three years ago, Laird would probably have gone unnoticed at an event like the Scottish Open but, on the back of two wins in America as well as a host of top-ten finishes - he's won more than $2.3 million this season alone - one of the European Tour's top titles is firmly in his sights. He also hopes to be in contention at the other end of the UK the following week when the Open Championship returns to Royal St George's.

"Yes definitely," he replied without hestitation when asked if he felt he had a chance of winning either of those events next month.

"Over the last couple of years I went into majors and probably didn't believe I could win, I was just trying to play well. Now at events like the Barclays Scottish Open and Open I'm turning up to win. Winning a big tournament like Bay Hill when I didn't feel I had my best game gave me a lot of confidence. I've been playing consistently this year, having a lot of top-ten finishes and giving myself chances to win. I'm coming back those two weeks hoping to be in contention and hoping to win for sure."

Laird, who is also getting married to fiancee Meagan Franks in July, is not a member of the European Tour this year, having decided that he couldn't get close to playing the minimum number of events. However, a place on next year's Ryder Cup team is certainly a target and, in order to make sure the European captain knew exactly who he was, Laird made a point of introducing himself to Jose Maria Olazabal on the practice range at The Masters in April.

"I will definitely be rejoining the European Tour next year and playing in a good number of events over there to try and show my desire to make the Ryder Cup team," said the Scot. "I'm not going to play many events at the end of this year to make sure I don't wear myself out as I'm going to have to play a lot of events next year due to the fact I won't start collecting points until 1 January. I'm going to have a really busy schedule to try and make that team. It's something I want to do and I want to make that clear by coming back and playing in some big events.

"I've not played with him (Olazabal] but I introduced myself to him at Augusta this year as he was walking past me on the range. I made an effort to go up and say 'hello' and give him an idea who I am and make it clear I want to make that team.People think that, because I've lived over the States for I while, that I don't think of myself as European anymore but that couldn't be further from the truth. I definitely think of myself as Scottish and, even though I'm friends with a lot of the guys who are probably going to be on the US team, that doesn't make it any less."

One event still on Laird's schedule for later in the season is the World Cup in China. "I remember talking to Stephen Gallacher at the USPGA over here last year and we were disappointed that the World Cup is now every two years," he commented. "It's definitely something that's still on my 2011 calendar and I'm excited about it. Any time you get to represent your country is pretty special, I remember that from playing at boys' youths' and men's level as an amateur. Scotland have had a pretty good record (in the World Cup] over the last few years and hopefully we can go there and maybe win it again."