US TOUR NEWS:MARTIN LAIRD, the first Scot to win a PGA Tour event in America since Sandy Lyle at the 1988 Masters, is also now his country's highest-ranked player in the world.
But a leap from 237th to 108th on the rankings has not taken the 26-year-old from Glasgow any nearer to qualifying for the Ryder Cup.
Laird would have gone into sixth place on Europe’s world points list if he were 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 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 €500,000 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 Justin Timberlake.
Laird’s only tournaments in Europe so far have been this year’s Scottish Open and the British Open Championship. He came 10th at Loch Lomond, but missed the cut at Turnberry.
But 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.
“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.”
And maybe he will also now give some thought to becoming a European Tour member too so he can start collecting Ryder Cup points.
Montgomerie 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.”
FINAL TOTALS(US unless stated): 265 - M Laird (Sco) 63 67 67 68 (Laird won at the third play-off hole), C Campbell 67 62 67 69, G McNeill 66 69 63 67 266 - J Klauk 65 67 66 68, J Furyk 64 67 73 62. 267 - C Hoffman 66 69 64 68 268 - T Petrovic 65 68 72 63, A Romero (Arg) 68 69 67 64, M Kuchar 66 64 72 66, T Pernice Jnr. 62 69 68 69, R Fowler 67 64 69 68, R Moore 67 63 70 68.
