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.

MARTIN LAIRD TWO CLEAR OF THE ARNOLD PALMER FIELD

Scot Martin Laird will start the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a two-stroke lead at Bay Hill, Florida.
The Glasgow man stood up well to the front-running pressure and the steamy hot temperatures in the mid-80s to returned a two-under-par 70 for an 11-under-par 54-hole tally of 205.
Laird had been joined in the lead by the first-round pacemaker, Spencer Levin, during the round but the Scot pulled away again over the closing holes. Levin posted a 71 for 207.
And there's another two-shot gap to the third-placed Bubba Watson, who had a 68 for 209, and Steve Marino (71).
Laird will not be counting his chickens but the Scot is five shots clear of joint fourth-placed Rickie Fowler and David Thoms which would put Levin, Watson and Marino in the frame as Laird's only real threats and only if he starts making more bogeys that birdies.
Tiger Woods' second-round charge went into reverse gear over the third round. He followed up rounds of 73 and 68 with a two-over-par 74.
He had an eagle 3 at the long sixth but a double bogey 6 at the par-4 13th. He did birdie the long fourth and the short 17th but he had too many bogeys and not enough birdies to cancel them out.
Woods has slipped back to one-under-par 215 and joint 29th place.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
Players from US unless stated
205 Martin Laird (Scotland) 70 65 70.
207 Spencer Levin 68 70 71.
209 Bubby Watson 70 71 68, Steve Marino
71 67 71.
210 David Thoms 74 67 69, Rickie Fowler 69 71 70.
211 Marc Leishman (Australia) 73 72 66, Trevor Immelman (S Africa) 72 71 68, John Senden (Australia) 71 72 68, Charles Howell 73 65 73.
Other scores:
213 Brian Davis (England) 70 72 71 (T15).
214 Phil Mickelson 70 75 69, Justin Rose (England) 72 72 70, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 73 68 73, Jim Furyk 74 69 71 (T20).
215 Ian Poulter (England) 71 71 73, Tiger Woods 73 68 74 (T29).
219 Edoardo Molinari (Italy) 72 75 72 (T58).
220 Ernie Els (S Africa) 75 72 73 (T65).

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SERGIO GARCIA EXPRESSES DOUBTS ABOUT HIS GOLF FUTURE

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By KEVIN GARSIDE
George Best quit Manchester United at 27. Ronaldinho was well advanced along the road to being merely a pub player by the same age. But golf? Can the game be lost to a man three months into his 32nd year? That is a question that Sergio Garcia put to himself in the latter half of 2010.
On a good day, and he has enjoyed a couple in Florida this week, he can appear plausibly engaged. On a bad day he gives the impression of a player locked in a kind of purgatory waiting for his golfing soul to heal. Even now he can not say with conviction that will happen.
Garcia had a productive opening two days at Bay Hill this week alongside golf’s other fading institution Tiger Woods. The week before in Tampa the lightning birdie, birdie start that propelled him into the halfway running, just one off the lead, had golf’s wishful thinkers firing off the Twitter missives: "Garcia is back."
But golf at pro tournament level is a four-day game. Garcia was back for two. The weekend saw the inexorable slide back to the mediocrity that has characterised the Spaniard's past two years. For more than 300 weeks between 2001 and 2009, Garcia was a top-ten player. He reached No 2 in 2008. Today he clings to 82nd.
If there existed a matrix to measure his spirit last year, Garcia would have been even lower than that.
In Dubai last month he was asked innocently enough by a journalist from the Gulf where his smile had gone. There was no warmth in the answer. He would smile when he wanted to, not when the world demanded it, he said through thinning lips.
Six months ago Garcia stepped away from the sport in the hope of a reboot in the bosom of friends. Were it up to him he would have stayed away longer than the four months his clubs were silent.
Commercial arrangements and Tour requirements meant he could not reasonably extend the hiatus so back to the game he came, swinging if not singing.
“I have to work things out for myself. There are things I need to work on to improve consistency but it is also getting that fire again and not letting the game overcome me and overpower me. I know there is a way I can play and where I want to be. If I’m not capable of that it’s frustrating but I guess we have to work on it and hope it gets better. When that happens we can get some good momentum and confidence going and things will be a little easier.
“I don’t know if I can be good again. At the moment I would say 'No chance,' with the way I’m hitting the ball, but I can’t see the future. If I get back to my best then maybe a major is there, why not? I know what I am capable of.”
Thank the fates for that 'if’. For a moment there I thought Garcia was about to leave the building. Is it appropriate to feel sorry for a monied megastar? If so I confess my guilt.
Listening to Garcia articulate indifference is a dispiriting experience. The world should not weigh so heavily on one so blessed and so relatively young. I put this too him.
The question triggered an immediate shift in mood. “I have so many things going on in my life, not only golf. If I quit golf tomorrow and didn’t play again I would be fine. It’s not life and death between me and golf. When I don’t play well I don’t feel good about it. Simple as that. You get a bit weary, go through stages when you get tired of it and a little frustrated. Right now I can say I still love playing, otherwise I would call it quits.”
Parents of fairway supernovas beware; Garcia has been chipping balls since the age of three. Maybe we can start too early in the pursuit of dreams. His failure to convert at The Open in 2007, and the US PGA Championship 13 months later, place Garcia in the "Devon Loch" school of sporting surrender.
At the former he was three up on Steve Stricker at the start of the final round and six clear of eventual winner Padraig Harrington, who has whistled to work ever since. Harrington also stole past him at the PGA, where Garcia’s lead vanished in the water with two to play.
If that were not enough to crush a man, life was busy preparing another ambush from which, despite claims to the contrary, one suspects he has yet to recover. Wealth and fame were powerless to counter the melancholy that settled upon his broken heart. Morgan-Leigh Norman, the daughter of Greg, ended their attachment in the week of Doral two years ago.
His decline can be attributed to the rupture in that romance. It threw him into a period of introspection during which, perhaps for the first time in adulthood golf was not a priority. It is rare for an alpha male to walk on to a right hand from a lover.
Suddenly Garcia was forced to live with a decision he did not make. The recovery is ongoing and golf must take its chances in the new order of things.
“I don’t care about scrutiny, I care about what I feel. That’s what is important to me. If I can feel I can do it that’s what is important. Not what others say about me.
"Only I know what’s going on inside of me. If I don’t feel right it bothers me. I need to work on it to make sure the good feelings come back.”
The first major of the season, The Masters, is a fortnight away One hopes he survives the terrors of Augusta National intact. Though he would, of course, have preferred professional and personal outcomes to be different, he claims not to be diminished by the lack of a major on his CV.
If the story of his golf success is to end with 20 career titles worldwide, so be it.
Disappointment dressed as defiance? Only he knows. “I feel I’ve had a good career. If you look at it there are a lot of guys who would give an arm to achieve what I have. That is something to be thankful about. I don’t need a major in order to justify my career. If it happens that would be great. If not it’s not going to change my life. I won’t be less happy.”
+The picture at the top of the article is a flashback to the happy days in the golfing life of Sergio Garcia. He is pictured with Justin Rose during the Great Britain and Ireland v Continent of Europe Jacques Leglise Trophy boys' international match at Royal Aberdeen's Balgownie links.
Garcia, born January 9, 1980, turned pro after being the leading amateur in the 1999 Masters, so he would have been 18 when he played at Balgownie.

SCOTTISH JUNIOR TOUR EVENT NO 1 - at ARBROATH LINKS

54-HOLE TOURNAMENT (18 holes Saturday; 36 holes Sunday)

FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 70 (35-35). CSS 70.

68 Ewan Scott (St Andrews) 33-35.
69 Greig Marchbank (Dumfries and Co) 35-34, Alasdair McDougall (Elderslie) 35-34, Cameron Farrell (Cardross) 34-35.
70 Craig Howie (Peebles) 35-35, Fraser Thain (West Linton) 34-36.
71 Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) 36-35, Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie) 35-36, Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) 34-37.

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PAUL LAWRIE LEADS FROM ROUND-IN-60 KENNETH FERRIE

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
An astonishing European Tour record-equalling round of 60 has put England's Kenneth Ferrie just one behind third-round leader, Aberdeen's Paul Lawrie, with a day to go at the Open de Andalucía de Golf by Turkish Airlines in Malaga on Spain's Costa del Sol.

After making the halfway cut with nothing to spare the 32 year old from North-east England was only a few inches away from achieving the magical 59, achieved five times on the US PGA Tour, but never on The European Tour.
After an eagle and seven birdies in the first 17 holes of the par-70 Parador course, Ferrie needed to hole his six iron approach to the 449 yard last and from the right-hand rough it trickled past the edge of the cup.
When he tapped in for another birdie, Ferrie had charged from joint 45th overnight into a three-shot lead with a 10 under par round, but 1999 Open Champion Lawrie, pictured, then shot a bogey-free 65 to take over at the top on 12 under.
That owed a lot, however, to a man in the crowd.
Lawrie, without a win since 2002, was heading for big trouble at the short 13th when his pulled tee shot struck a spectator on the back and rebounded onto the green.
Ferrie, who is tied for second with compatriot Mark Foster, wore a Superman belt when he led the 2006 US Open Championship after three rounds, but this is the nearest he has ever come to playing like him.
He becomes only the 14th player to shoot 60 on The European Tour without the help of preferred lies since Italian Baldovino Dassu was the first to do it 40 years ago.
The former European Open winner described himself as "ecstatic" about the round, but then was at pains to say there was nothing extraordinary about it.
"It was unspectacular, but it added up to a spectacular score," he commented.
"You'd expect somebody with such a low score to have holed putts and hit spectacular shots, but it was just a very steady round - lots of fairways, lots of greens and a lot of wedge shots to four or five feet which I managed to knock in.
"Some days you shoot 70 and you are doing cartwheels and are over the moon, but I don't feel I did anything above and beyond.
"I realised that if I finished birdie-birdie-birdie it would have been 59, but 16 and 18 are strong holes and if you get out of position on them you are going to struggle to make pars.
"My six iron at the last looked very good and when it landed I got a little bit excited, but I would gladly have taken 60 with three (holes) to play."
Foster, whose only European Tour win came eight years ago, had six back-nine birdies for a 65.
Not one of the halfway leaders managed the par. Dutchman Maarten Lafeber slipped to seven under with a 71 and both Dane Jeppe Huldahl and Swede Rikard Karlberg are one further back.
Lawrie has had only one bogey in the first 54 holes and collected birdies on the second, fifth, sixth, 14th and 17th, where he pitched to within a foot of the hole.
"With the break I had on the 13th even I can't moan about being unlucky," he said. "The pleasing thing is to be in contention after two rounds and then go out and shoot five under."
On what affect Ferrie's 60 had on him, he added: "It's almost a good thing because you have something to chase. I'm looking forward to playing with him tomorrow."

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 210 (3x70)
198 Paul Lawrie (Scotland) 66 67 65.
199 Kenneth Ferrie (England) 70 69 60, Mark Foster (England) 67 67 65.
201 Johan Edfors (Sweden) 65 71 65.
202 Raphael Jacquelin (France) 68 69 65, Jose Manuel Lara (Spain) 67 70 65, Felipe Aguilar (Chile) 67 69 66.
Selected score:
206 Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 69 70 67 (T29).

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DANNY LEE IN CONTENTION IN US NATIONWIDE TOUR EVENT

FROM THE STUFF.CO.NZ WEBSITE
New Zealand golfer Danny Lee is within striking distance heading into the third round of the Nationwide Tour's Louisiana Open in the United States.
The 20-year-old lies tied for seventh after a second-round 68 backed up his opening effort of 69 at the Le Triomphe Country Club at Broussard.

He made five birdies but bogeyed the 14th and 17th to sit five shots off the pace set by former US PGA Tour regular Brett Wetterich.
Englishman Greg Owen, who lost his US PGA Tour playing rights at the end of last season, missed the cut with scores of 71 and 72 for 143 - one shot above the limit mark for qualifying.
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LANGER'S THUMB SURGERY ENDS HIS MASTERS' STREAK AT 27

By Doug Ferguson, Associated Press
Twice Masters champion Bernhard Langer has had surgery on his left thumb and will miss the next two months of the lucrative US Champions (Seniors) Tour.
It will also end the Florida-based German's streak of 27 consecutive appearances at Augusta National where he was the winner in 1985 and 1993.
Langer sustained the injury six months ago while riding his bike to the beach, and it never properly healed.
"Knowing that it wouldn't heal itself, I had to have surgery," Langer said Friday night after returning home from New York, where he had the ligaments in his thumb repaired. "It's not a good time for it, but you can't choose these things."
He said he still plans to attend the Champions Dinner at Augusta National on Tuesday night and be at the Masters for other obligations. Even so, he was disappointed to miss the Masters for the first time since 1983, calling it one of the highlights of his year.
Asked how he injured the thumb, Langer laughed and said, "Nothing sensational — you won't believe it."
He was riding to the beach in south Florida last autumn when he came to an intersection and, with the bike still moving, reached out to push the button on the traffic signal.
"I felt a sharp pain pushing the button," Langer said. "I played three more tournaments with pain, then had six weeks off. I figured that I sprained it, and in six weeks it should be gone. But when I started again, it wasn't gone."
An MRI didn't immediately reveal ligament damage, and Langer taped up his thumb and won the Ace Group Classic for his 14th title on the Champions Tour. After getting another opinion, the ligament damage was revealed.
Langer had the surgery Wednesday in New York. He will be in a splint for five weeks, and a full recovery is expected after about eight weeks. That puts the 53-year-old Langer scheduled to return about the time of the Senior PGA Championship.
Langer won two over-50s majors last year, the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior British Open. He was the Champions Tour player of the year.
"I was told not to rush back into competitive," Langer said. "Everybody wants to come back real quick, and that's one of the worst things to do."

PIPERDAM GC, DUNDEE FINED £120,000 FOLLOWING TOURIST DEATH

FROM THE HERALDSCOTLAND.COM WEBSITE
http://www.heraldscotland.com/
By CHRIS WATT
A Scottish golf resort has been fined over the death of a tourist who caught Legionnaires’ disease from a hot tub.
The Piperdam Golf and Leisure Resort, near Dundee, was fined £120,000 for exposing English visitor Edward Warnes to the deadly bacteria.
Mr Warnes and his wife both fell ill after staying at the resort in March 2008, but while she recovered from Pontiac fever – a short, feverish form of Legionnaires – he caught the full-blown version and had to go to hospital, where he died.
An investigation by Angus Council showed the strain of legionella bacteria that had killed him was present in the hot tub and two shower heads at the lodge where the Warne family stayed.
In a ruling at Forfar Sheriff Court, Elaine Taylor, head of the Crown Office Health and Safety Division, said measures to control legionella bacteria at the resort were inadequate and led to its proliferation in the lodge.
“Mr Warnes’ death was entirely avoidable and had Piperdam met its statutory health and safety obligations he would be alive today,” she said.
The Piperdam Golf and Leisure Resort pled guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act, and the business was fined £120,000 – reduced from £150,000 because of the company’s guilty plea.
Legionnaires is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia which results in death in around 12% of reported cases. It can sometimes be treated with antibiotics.

WHO COULD PUTT WITH "BOATIES IN THE BAY" DISTRACTION?

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Deeside Golf Club teaching professional Peter Smith is pictured above putting on the second green at Murcar Links yesterday in the final of the North-east Alliance pro-am foursomes with the North Sea oil supply vessels anchored behind him in the bay.
It's a scene that reminds me of the story relating to Andrew (Andra') Kirkcaldy putting in a match (which he lost) at the Old Course, St Andrews.
Kirkcaldy (1860-1934), the first honorary professional appointed by The RandA, was renowned for speaking his mind - so the new issue of The R and A Golfer's Handbook (a snip at £30) tells us - and he also had a temper.
Andra is reputed to have commented in exasperation after a three-putt or two "Fa (who) could putt with thon boaties sailing aboot (about) oot (out) there?" pointing out to St Andrews Bay.
Kirkcaldy lost a play-off for the Open hampionship of 1889 to Willie Park at Musselburgh. He was second in the championship three times, a further three times finishing a third and twice fourth.
Perhaps the fact that it's hard to be distracted by "boaties in the bay" at Prestwick and Musselburgh - regular venues for the Open in Andra's day - had something to do with his record.
PS Peter Smith holed the birdie putt!

KINGSBARNS LINKS REOPENS FOR NEW SEASON ON APRIL 1

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY GOLF COMMUNICATIONS INTERNATIONAL
Kingsbarns Golf Links is looking forward to its second decade in operation after a successful 10th anniversary season in 2010.
Having celebrated the anniversary last year by staging qualifying for the Open Championship the highly rated links in the East Neuk of Fife saw more than 27,000 rounds played throughout the season.
Kingsbarns is all set to reopen for play on Friday April 1, 2011 after a series of improvements were made over the winter months.
The main focus of the greenkeeping team, led by Course Manager Innes Knight, was to continue improvements to all playing surfaces. In 2010, with the help of ‘state of the art’ fairway cutting machinery and the addition of an extra patching team, the maintenance team were able to work ahead of daily play unnoticed.
This winter’s maintenance included work to augment the existing fairway drainage system by improving certain areas which have been affected in the past by torrential downpours. Maintenance has also included work such as bunker revetting, tee and walkway alterations and coastal defence improvements.
The greenkeeping team work closely with the Sports Turf Research Institute, the leading independent turf care body, to monitor the quality of the greens. The STRI uses highly advanced turf quality measuring equipment on the playing surfaces to help Innes and his team consistently achieve traditional links conditions and true running surfaces.
“The course performed very well in 2010,” said Innes. “The Final Qualifying for the Open in June and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the beginning of October were our biggest events of the year and we received very favourable feedback from both tournaments. We have been very busy over the last few months working hard to lay the foundations for a successful start to the 2011 season.”
Improvements have also been made to the facilities for golfers including the upstairs locker room, 1st tee starter's hut and to the halfway house. The half-way house has undergone a makeover and will continue to sell a selection of chilled beers, hot or cold drinks and snacks, along with its world famous hotdogs.
The green fee at Kingsbarns for next season is £185 with a 50% discount for golfers playing a second round within seven days.
For booking information contact 01334 460861 or visit www.kingsbarns.com.


Helena Woodcock
Golf Communications International
Tel: +44 7534 71 61 63