Martin Laird

On Sunday Scotland’s Martin Laird secured an invitation to the upcoming US Masters when he beat Rory McIlroy to win the Texas Open. This week’s player profile takes a look at the successful career of this talented golfer as he sets his sights on the future.

30-year-old Laird was born in 1982 in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The young Laird played junior and amateur golf throughout his childhood and teenage years, learning his golf technique during his years at the Hilton Park Golf Club in his home city. After starting out as a left-handed golfer, Laird switched to right-handed golf before making his professional debut, a rare ability that has served his technique very well.

In the year 2000, Laird struck gold when he was selected at age 17 to study in the United States through the College Prospects of America program. Laird enrolled at Colorado State University on a golf scholarship and enjoyed a successful collegiate golf career, winning four tournaments in total.

After college, Laird turned professional. The young Scotsman played for several years on the second-tier Nationwide Tour, weathering the intense competition that exists at professional level. Known for his hard work and dedication, Laird rose to the challenge and won his first Nationwide Tour event in 2007 at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic in Georgia. The following year, Laird made his debut on the US PGA Tour.

If the competition on the Nationwide Tour was intense, the PGA Tour exposed Laird to a whole new game. The Scotsman had a challenging first year on the Tour, struggling at first to make cuts and place highly in tournaments. However, as time went by Laird met the challenges of the PGA Tour and has won a total of three events at the top level of North American golf – Sunday’s victory at the Texas Open being his most recent victory.

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