Green’s 64 leads Laird by 1 shot at Scottish Open
July 9, 2009
LUSS, Scotland (AP)—Martin Laird finally came home and put on quite a showThursday in the Scottish Open, twice chipping in for birdie on his way to a6-under 65 that left him one shot behind Richard Green after the opening roundat Loch Lomond.
Laird was born in Glasgow and would stand outside the ropes at Loch Lomond,dreaming of a career in golf.
He just never imagined it would take such a curious route. He was recruitedto play college golf at Colorado State and went straight to Q-school, where heearned a Nationwide Tour card. He advanced to the PGA Tour last year and playedwell enough to keep his card.
But he had never played as a pro in Scotland, or any European Tour event,until Thursday.
“I couldn’t wait to play today and I couldn’t really go to sleep lastnight,” he said. “I was ready to go, and once I got out here and startedwarming up, I was excited and ready to go.”
His grandparents, who live across the country in Fife, watched him play forthe first time. So did his parents, his girlfriend and an uncle, giving him morefans than he gets in America. Laird delivered a bogey-free round that includedconsecutive birdies at the end to join a crowd atop the leaderboard.
“A dream start,” he said.
Green was thankful his start wasn’t a nightmare. The left-hander fromAustralia had shown good form coming to the final event before the British Open,with top 10s in Wales, Germany and France. His swing deserted him during thepro-am Wednesday, however, and he spent nearly two hours on the range until hefelt it had returned.
Green was satisfied after hitting a 3-wood from 250 yards to 35 feet on thepar-5 13th, and the eagle putt that followed. That sent him to a 64 and aone-shot lead over Laird, Paul McGinley, Graeme Storm and GonzaloFernandez-Castano.
“It’s never a long way away,” Green said. “But I’m pleased I’ve worked itout a bit.”
Adam Scott was miles away from a game that put him as high as No. 3 in theworld, although he appears headed in the right direction, too. With tennis starAna Ivanovic watching in the gallery, Scott played bogey-free and opened with a66.
“It was the golf I remember playing myself … once,” Scott said with agrin.
Buick Invitational winner Nick Watney had the best score among a strongcontingent of PGA Tour regulars at Loch Lomond, opening with a 67. John Daly,who continues to play most of his golf in Europe after his six-month suspensionon the PGA Tour was lifted, threatened to join the leaders until three bogeys onthe back nine dropped him to a 69.
Also at 69 were Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy and Camilo Villegas, all of whomplayed in the afternoon in breezy conditions.
Laird’s career is so obscure that a local radio reporter asked the28-year-old Scot what had taken him so long to contest at a European Tour event.Laird smiled and replied, “It’s my first one.”
Aside from his family, not many knew who he was because of his time inAmerica.
“I wouldn’t say I came over here with the mindset that I’m going to showeveryone how good I am,” Laird said. “I knew I could play well and I wanted tocome over here and hopefully play we as well as I could and see where Ifinished. My game is getting closer.”
When someone asked how it would feel to win here—which would make himeligible for the British Open next week at Turnberry—Laird was quick to puthis dream day into perspective.
Yes, he had a 65, but that included chipping in on the par-3 11th and thepar-4 16th, a short game that hid some suspect iron play.
“I got lucky today,” he said. “It was absolutely perfect.”
DIVOTS: The European Tour announced an alliance with the Asian Tour in whichthey will work together on TV and marketing endeavors under a group called“EurAsia Golf.” More than anything, it sent a message that Europe and Asia aretogether, leaving little room for negotiations with the new OneAsia tour. … Inhis first tournament since knighthood, Sir Nick Faldo opened with a 71. … RoryMcIlroy is allowing fans on his Web site choose his clothing for the week, allof which will be tartans. McIlroy opened with a 68.
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