US OPEN
Laird’s on even keel as he eyes Scots title
MARTIN LAIRD set his sights on winning the Scottish Open after taking a massive confidence boost from a solid return to the Major stage.
The Arizona-based Scot hopes his positive week at Erin Hills can kickstart his season after a sluggish start failed to deliver the results his improved play deserved.
The lift of making it through a qualifying event to book his 19th Major appearance was made even better by a strong performance that saw him finish level par after four rounds in Wisconsin.
Back-to-back birdies and three bogeys at the US Open venue saw Laird – the only one of three Scots to make the cut – card a one-over 73 on the final day for a total of 288.
Now he’s looking forward to returning to Scotland next month to have a shot at his home Open at Dundonald.
He said: “I am pretty happy on what was clearly a very hard day.
“Finishing level par in a US Open is not too bad and a score like that would not normally be around 30th place in this tournament.
“I played really solid this week and while I was not right up there, overall I am pretty happy. I have been playing well for a while now and my scores just have not been reflecting how well I’ve been hitting it.
“Of course guys say that all the time but it really has been the case. I have been hitting the ball really well for the last five to six weeks and I’m finally also making some putts.
“I will play the next two weeks over here on the PGA Tour, have a week off and then the Scottish.
“I have a really good run from now till the end of the season. The Scottish Open is my favourite event of the year and then I will play the Canadian Open, the PGA Championship and the play-offs.”