MARTIN LAIRD HAS 2012 RYDER CUP DEBUT IN HIS SIGHTS

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By OLIVER BROWN
Made in America he may be, but Martin Laird claims to be consumed with the thought of representing Europe at next year’s Ryder Cup after moving serenely up the world rankings this season.
The Scot’s surge to the top of the leaderboard at Bay Hill should have shocked no close observers of his burgeoning career, which has brought just one finish outside the top 25 all year.
But the resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, who has seldom looked back after profiting from a golf scholarship at Colorado State University, said that his decade of living and playing in the United States would not dilute his ambition of beating the Americans in 18 months’ time.
“It’s on my mind constantly,” Laird acknowledged.
“It would be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, goals and achievements for me in my career. Just because I have been over here since starting college here in 2000, it doesn’t mean I don’t think of myself as Scottish and European. To make that team would mean everything to me. Next year I’m going to do everything I can to get on it.”
At 25, Laird, perhaps due to an accent owing more to Phoenix than the Glasgow suburbs, has drawn scant recognition in the UK - outside his native Scotland - for his record on the US PGA Tour.
His recent results reflect sustained excellence: a play-off loss at the Barclays event in New Jersey, all but guaranteeing his place in this year’s majors, followed by a tie for fifth at the Dunhill Links in New Jersey and another runner-up finish in Las Vegas.
Remarkably, he did not even have coach Mark McCann with him at those tournaments. “It showed me that I’ve always been more of a grinder. It was funny to me that when I really just turned up at tournaments and let it happen, I played better. My coach and I decided this off-season to see a lot less of each other.” But Laird is the victim of what might be termed 'Brian Davis syndrome’, in honour of an Englishman and Tour colleague who has also drifted quietly under the radar.
Davis, who was in a competitive position in Orlando at two under par, seven behind Laird on Friday, has made millions of dollars through his consistency here but without the breakthrough win that would elevate him to the elite.
Laird, who achieved his maiden victory at the implausibly-titled Justin Timberlake Open, has risen to 40th in the world and become ready to entertain talk of making Jose Maria Olazabal’s Europe team at Medinah. “I hope I can play well enough when it matters,” he said.
Emulating Luke Donald, Laird forged his reputation in the crucible of American collegiate golf.
“I was 17 years old when I came over (to Colorado State University) and I wasn’t really very good,” he explained. “By the time I graduated, I definitely had improved a lot, just playing competitive golf almost all year round, and having really good practice facilities and a good coach helped me get a lot better over my four years.
“I used to hit the ball really low and now I probably have one of the higher ball flights on tour. That’s something that definitely benefits you when you play over here. Probably if I had stayed in Europe, that wouldn’t be the case.”
Laird has benefited, too, from a far more drastic adjustment, changing his swing at an early age from left-handed to right. “My first-ever club when I was a tiny little kid was a little left-handed thing,” he recalled. “Any photos my parents have of me as a little kid, before I really knew what golf was, I’m standing to the ball left-handed.
“But when it got time for me to actually play a little golf, my dad couldn’t get any left-handed clubs, so he got me some right-handed ones and that was it. I joke with him saying: 'I wonder how good I could have been if I was left-handed?’”
Mercifully for Laird, the alternative appears to have worked out more than well enough so far.