STRONG-minded as well as sturdy, Martin Laird is a modern day addition to the Scottish diaspora who sought a more rewarding life on the golf courses of America.
Unlike most of his contemporaries, who prefer to compete on the European Tour, it was the Glaswegian's dream to follow in the footsteps of early champions such as Willie Anderson and establish himself in the United States.
Since the unfolding sag
a of the US Open, which starts at Bethpage in New York on Thursday, has so many binding ties with the home of golf, it was entirely appropriate Laird should defy odds this week and qualify to fly the saltire in America's national championship.
Although 12 of the first 16 US Opens were clinched by Scots (Anderson won four of them), it's fair to say that Scottish victories in the season's second major have proved elusive ever since Willie Macfarlane and Tommy Armour won twice between 1925 and 1927.
But, thanks to Colin Montgomerie's stalwart efforts – he was runner-up on three occasions, most recently in 2006 – Scotland has continued to enjoy a keen interest in the outcome of the US Open after the Ayrshire golfer almost won on his debut at Pebble Beach in 1992.
As is the case at all majors, of course, you have to be in it to win it. Given a record entry of 9,086 golfers from 71 countries chasing 156 spots – 63 of those places were already awarded to fully exempt players – it was a big ask for any hopeful.
With no Scots exempt for the championship, and none making it through European qualifying at Walton Heath in Surrey last month, there was a distinct possibility the 2009 staging of the US Open on Long Island might have been the first since Andy North won at Oakland Hills in 1985 not to feature a Scot.
In conversation this week, the 26-year-old spoke of his pride at being the lone Scot scheduled to join the world's best golfers and tee up on the Black course in Farmingdale. Thanks to scores of 67 and 70 on Monday in sectional qualifying at the Germantown and Ridgeway courses in Memphis, Laird's total of 137 proved sufficient to claim one of the 13 qualifying spots.
While thrilled to pull off such a notable feat, Laird was honest enough to acknowledge it was also a relief to discover the pressure on his shoulders only after he'd booked his place at Bethpage. "I wasn't aware beforehand that there were no other Scots in the field," he said, "though I did find out afterwards. It was when I looked at the results it occurred to me I might be the only Scot there. That's because we don't have a Scottish player at the moment in the world's top 50 who is exempt for all the majors.
"Golf is an individual sport and I hadn't paid much attention to the ramifications of who was in the US Open and who wasn't. Now I know, of course, I'm pleased for my country as well as myself. It would have been a sad situation if we'd had no one. I just wish there was a whole lot more of us going to Bethpage. But at least there's one Scot, as opposed to none."
The first Scot in 20 years to become a full-time member of the PGA Tour in America, Laird was a junior champion at Hilton Park in Glasgow. He represented Scotland as an amateur and won the Scottish Youths title at Letham Grange six years ago. Like many aspiring golfers around the world, he chose to hone his game and further his education in America where he gained a degree from Colorado State University.
Comfortable with the lifestyle in America – he set up home in Scottsdale, Arizona – Laird first made his mark as a professional on the Nationwide Tour, the American equivalent of the Challenge Tour, before earning his card on the PGA Tour. He made an auspicious debut as a rookie in 2008 by qualifying for the FedEx Cup and retained his playing rights for 2009 with earnings of nearly $853,000.
As was the case last season, when he missed eight cuts in his first 14 events, the Scot struggled over the opening months and didn't take home a cheque between February and the middle of April. With his confidence at a low ebb, it was a chance meeting on the practice range in New Orleans with Mark McCann, a South African golf coach, which turned around a season heading for oblivion.
"One of the reasons I've started to play better is because I'm driving the ball well again and my iron play has also improved," he explained. "I was trying to make a few swing changes with my old coach (Steve Dahlby] to help me develop more consistency. But for some reason what we worked on just wasn't right for me. I really struggled and was hitting it everywhere for the first three months of the year.
"It was on the Tuesday before the tournament in New Orleans when I saw another teacher and it more or less clicked right away. Things came around and I went from having no confidence one week to feeling good about my game the next."
Whatever the ups and downs he's experienced on the PGA Tour, Laird is perfecting the art of qualifying for majors. Last month in Texas at international final qualifying for the Open he carded scores of 67 and 65 to book his place in the oldest major at Turnberry. He's also keeping his fingers crossed that the organisers of the Barclays Scottish Open will extend an invitation to let him make his home debut at Loch Lomond.
"I'm really looking forward to competing in Scotland as a professional for the first time," he said. "I'm already playing at the Ailsa and I'm waiting to hear if I'll get one of the exemptions for the Scottish Open. It would mean a lot to me to play in my national championship. I've heard from my manager there will be a meeting later this month to decide those Scottish Open invitations. That would be a dream two weeks for me.
"Believe it or not, even though I played most of the other Ayrshire links as an amateur, I've never teed up at Turnberry. What I did do when I was 12 was go with my Dad to watch the last day of the 1994 Open won at the Ailsa by Nick Price. It was my first visit to an Open as a spectator and it will be a big deal for me to go back there as a competitor."
Although he may want to find a lower trajectory in south Ayrshire, one of Laird's strengths in America is the height of his ball flight and the power of his driving. He's currently averaging 297 yards and is ranked 19th in driving distance. Given the scale of the Black course – it's a par 70 stretched to 7,426 yards with three mighty par 4s exceeding 500 yards – Laird reckons length will be an asset.
"I've not played there before, but I know it's long and hard and people have good things to say about it," he said. "Even before I made it through qualifying, a number of folk said to me it would be good for me to play in this US Open because Bethpage would suit my game. I remember watching the last one on TV in 2002 – that was a great US Open with Tiger Woods winning, Phil Mickelson giving chase and Sergio Garcia also going at it."
Under the direction of Mike Davis, the United States Golf Association's senior director of competitions, the course set-up in the US Open has vastly improved since graduated rough was first introduced at Winged Foot in 2006. The first 20 feet or so off the fairway at Bethpage will be two and a half inches deep while the areas beyond will rise to six inches.
Laird, whose previous US Open appearance was at Oakmont two years ago, believes the changes make the test fairer. "I used to hear people say that at the US Open you either had to hit it straight or miss it big," he observed.
"It was once the case that if you missed the fairway by a foot you'd find the thickest rough on the course. Or you could hit it 20 yards off line and you'd be fine because your ball was on the turf trodden down by the crowds.
"I remember the buzz when I played at Oakmont and can't wait to try that again. The last US Open for me was just an opportunity to soak up the atmosphere with no great expectations. I didn't really believe I could contend there. This time I know if I play the way I can play, then there's no reason why I can't do something.
"If I'm being truthful, mind you, the excitement about the US Open isn't half as great as how I felt when I qualified for Turnberry. With family (his parents live in Upper Largo] and friends coming to watch, that's going to be something really special for me."
The full article contains 1556 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
