Congrats Martin Laird ....Winner of the Shriners.

[Titleist99]

He won because he hit the best Irons, He had the best short game and his putting was off the charts. martin average 284 yards off the tee all drives. I think that we should hold up on rolling everything back and going to 8000 yard course for the time being....shorter courses bring more players into the mix....IMO

[403Golfer]

That was a great putt with a lot on the line, that win is big for a career like Laird’s. Nice to see for him and an entertaining finish. 

[JonnyKrasnodar]

Very well put. The golf Martin played over the 4 days was exemplary. Yes, it would have been great to see/hear the crowd reactions to some of his play on the back 9 but it added to the tension overall.

 

I agree that technology doesn't need rolled back. If you follow Lou Stagner on twitter he posts a lot on this subject and backs it up with plain facts and figures. 

 

We saw it on one regular event post lockdown where the rough was up, fairways watered to be soft and holes were were tightly tucked. Hardly anyone under par and the big hitters had loads of decisions to make.  At the US Open Rory and Wolff out-drove Bryson on average but their ability to get close from the rough or up-and-down it was far inferior to Bryson. That's the skill and they should get better at it. Courses can handle big hitters if set up correctly.

[Titleist99]

1 minute ago, JonnyKrasnodar said:

Very well put. The golf Martin played over the 4 days was exemplary. Yes, it would have been great to see/hear the crowd reactions to some of his play on the back 9 but it added to the tension overall.

 

I agree that technology doesn't need rolled back. If you follow Lou Stagner on twitter he posts a lot on this subject and backs it up with plain facts and figures. 

 

We saw it on one regular event post lockdown where the rough was up, fairways watered to be soft and holes were were tightly tucked. Hardly anyone under par and the big hitters had loads of decisions to make.  At the US Open Rory and Wolff out-drove Bryson on average but their ability to get close from the rough or up-and-down it was far inferior to Bryson. That's the skill and they should get better at it. Courses can handle big hitters if set up correctly.

Absolutely correct!....The players that were in the playoff had all around skills today, the driver wasn't always the club of choice. Highly entertaining to me....That Wolf is quite a player, seems like he's always in the mix.

[rawdog]

@Titleist99... just curious where you are getting the driving average from. PGA Tour site has him at 323.

 

As a side note, his short game was not the best in either putting or around the green, according to strokes gained data.

 

Tee-to-green, however, he was #2 in the field, which was awesome. And in fairness, he was above-average in every facet of the game this week.

 

Add it all up and you get a win.

 

https://datagolf.com/live-strokes-gained

[bladehunter]

Have to also thank the golf gods for that eagle up and I n from the fried egg ... proved to be the difference.  I suppose he was owed that for a perfect 3 wood ending up in such an awful spot.    

[jubilee_links]

Congrats to Martin.
Last week I drove past his old 'home club', Hilton Park north of Glasgow and hoped he would get his form back and start contending again.

Great to see

[Sean2]

I think he won in 2009 in a play off as well. 

[MattyO1984]

Given what I have seen of Martin Laird, I am somewhat surprised at the driving distance which has been quoted. He is no Bryon, Rory or DJ but he can get it out there and seemed to be pretty steady around the 300 yard mark most of the past few seasons. 

 

All of that said is just an aside though. As a Scot having a winner on the PGA Tour again is brilliant news. Russell Knox looked like he was going to be our best hope after winning the WGC and following it up with the Travellers but, with the exception of the Irish Open in 2018, he never really seems to have gotten over being ignored for the 2016 Ryder Cup. I for one, can’t quite understand why as a golfing nation seem to stall when it comes to taking the step up. Plenty of decent players but no one that seems able to take the jump up like Monty back in the 90’s and 00’s and a whole host of the English guys.

[jubilee_links]

10 minutes ago, MattyO1984 said:

Given what I have seen of Martin Laird, I am somewhat surprised at the driving distance which has been quoted. He is no Bryon, Rory or DJ but he can get it out there and seemed to be pretty steady around the 300 yard mark most of the past few seasons. 

 

All of that said is just an aside though. As a Scot having a winner on the PGA Tour again is brilliant news. Russell Knox looked like he was going to be our best hope after winning the WGC and following it up with the Travellers but, with the exception of the Irish Open in 2018, he never really seems to have gotten over being ignored for the 2016 Ryder Cup. I for one, can’t quite understand why as a golfing nation seem to stall when it comes to taking the step up. Plenty of decent players but no one that seems able to take the jump up like Monty back in the 90’s and 00’s and a whole host of the English guys.

Scots not making the step up is a complex issue - Laird and Knox dont appear to have gone down the route that the majority of promising players from here do..
I am not sure our national psyche allows for the arrogance to make it at the highest level consistently  - the new breed of English golfer all appear to have an edge that our guys either dont have or dont show. I follow Connor Syme a lot as he is local and when he was going down the stretch in a few tournaments against guys like Sam Horsfield there was only one winner based on the way they held themselves.
Was there not also a big change in English amateur golf a few years ago when they stopped molly coddling the players with all the luxuries of 5 star trips to dubai etc. and started training them for the hard yards of life on tour as the transitional period is key for success.
Maybe golf in Scotland is so accessible you dont have to be a complete type A personality to get good....

[MattyO1984]

10 minutes ago, jubilee_links said:

Scots not making the step up is a complex issue - Laird and Knox dont appear to have gone down the route that the majority of promising players from here do..
I am not sure our national psyche allows for the arrogance to make it at the highest level consistently  - the new breed of English golfer all appear to have an edge that our guys either dont have or dont show. I follow Connor Syme a lot as he is local and when he was going down the stretch in a few tournaments against guys like Sam Horsfield there was only one winner based on the way they held themselves.
Was there not also a big change in English amateur golf a few years ago when they stopped molly coddling the players with all the luxuries of 5 star trips to dubai etc. and started training them for the hard yards of life on tour as the transitional period is key for success.
Maybe golf in Scotland is so accessible you dont have to be a complete type A personality to get good....

 

No doubt about it that it is a complex issue. National psyche definitely has something to do with it. Glorious failure seems to be our default position when it comes to sport.

 

Guys like Syme, Ewen Ferguson and Grant Forrest are all more than good enough to be competing on a Euro Tour level if not higher but that killer instinct or chip on the shoulder that others have just doesn’t seem to be there. No surprise that taking Monty out of the equation, or best player over the past 30 years has been Lawrie who had to work for absolutely everything that he had.

[swoll cracker]

I’ve followed Martin closely since he turned pro. I had the opportunity to meet him way back when he was playing collegiately at Colorado State in Fort Collins.  So I had a lot of fun yesterday as I watched him find a way to win.

 

The strength of his game is his long irons (towering high fades) and that plays well in Vegas with its gettable par 5’s.  His putting stats for the week were not very good until Sunday.  His ball striking for the week was fantastic.

 

He’s had a heck of a career for an unheralded journeyman. Four PGA Tour wins (one less than Luke Donald, as many as McDowell, more than Poulter and Westwood). And he’s kept his card since he joined the tour in 2008 off the Nationwide Tour.  Almost lost it in his rookie year but he made an 8-footer on 18 on Sunday at the old Disney tourney in Orlando to finish 125th.

[jholz]

5 minutes ago, swoll cracker said:

I’ve followed Martin closely since he turned pro. I had the opportunity to meet him way back when he was playing collegiately at Colorado State in Fort Collins.  So I had a lot of fun yesterday as I watched him find a way to win.

 

The strength of his game is his long irons (towering high fades) and that plays well in Vegas with its gettable par 5’s.  His putting stats for the week were not very good until Sunday.  His ball striking for the week was fantastic.

 

He’s had a heck of a career for an unheralded journeyman. Four PGA Tour wins (one less than Luke Donald, as many as McDowell, more than Poulter and Westwood). And he’s kept his card since he joined the tour in 2008 off the Nationwide Tour.  Almost lost it in his rookie year but he made an 8-footer on 18 on Sunday at the old Disney tourney in Orlando to finish 125th.

 

I would not have guessed in a million years that Laird would be a Colorado State alum. Me too, way back in '97. Go Rams!

[Titleist99]

2 hours ago, jubilee_links said:

Scots not making the step up is a complex issue - Laird and Knox dont appear to have gone down the route that the majority of promising players from here do..
I am not sure our national psyche allows for the arrogance to make it at the highest level consistently  - the new breed of English golfer all appear to have an edge that our guys either dont have or dont show. I follow Connor Syme a lot as he is local and when he was going down the stretch in a few tournaments against guys like Sam Horsfield there was only one winner based on the way they held themselves.
Was there not also a big change in English amateur golf a few years ago when they stopped molly coddling the players with all the luxuries of 5 star trips to dubai etc. and started training them for the hard yards of life on tour as the transitional period is key for success.
Maybe golf in Scotland is so accessible you dont have to be a complete type A personality to get good....

IMO....To excel at the highest level a player needs a touch of arrogance. When your game goes south you have to remind yourself that you are a great player.....

[jubilee_links]

8 minutes ago, Titleist99 said:

IMO....To excel at the highest level a player needs a touch of arrogance. When your game goes south you have to remind yourself that you are a great player.....

Taking this way off topic but forgive me - Pete Cowen was on a podcast the other week talking about great players at young age not being afraid to look stupid - he referenced teaching the NI youth setup and asking for volunteers for a hard bunker shot - first hand goes up and its Rory (about 11??) - he duffs the shot. Next week he has it dialled in. Too many people in the Scotland are told not to 'show off' as it makes you look like a p**** if you fail.

[swoll cracker]

31 minutes ago, jholz said:

 

I would not have guessed in a million years that Laird would be a Colorado State alum. Me too, way back in '97. Go Rams!

 

I used to putt over at Collindale GC in Fort Collins which is where I met Martin.  I didnt really get to know him because he was so focused on practicing back then. I remember talking to one of his college teammates who beat Martin as much as he lost to him back then. The guy told me that Martin was much better than him and all you had to do was watch him hit long irons on the range to understand what he was talking about.  

 

So I went over to the range to see. The guy wasnt lying. Martin was launching these majestically long and high 3-irons repeatedly. Making it on tour is tough but you could see that Martin had a chance.

[jholz]

4 minutes ago, swoll cracker said:

 

I used to putt over at Collindale GC in Fort Collins which is where I met Martin.  I didnt really get to know him because he was so focused on practicing back then. I remember talking to one of his college teammates who beat Martin as much as he lost to him back then. The guy told me that Martin was much better than him and all you had to do was watch him hit long irons on the range to understand what he was talking about.  

 

So I went over to the range to see. The guy wasnt lying. Martin was launching these majestically long and high 3-irons repeatedly. Making it on tour is tough but you could see that Martin had a chance.

 

Given the timing, that wasn't all that long after I was up there. I didn't play a ton of golf in those days, but played Collindale a bit. Never cared for that course too much - flat, boring, and generally baked out. I preferred to drive over to Greeley and play Boomerang Links most of the time. 

 

But, Ft. Collins on the whole and CSU were a blast. I generally lived on the east side of campus, like the Remington and Laurel/Remington and Mulberry area. Worked at Canino's - if you remember that place.

 

Oh those were the days.  

[harolease]

The up and down from 17 and the hole out from plug sand lie was very spectacular 

well deserved champion 

[cardoustie]

Nice to see a Scotsman win, he seems likeable 

[grm24]

12 hours ago, Sean2 said:

I think he won in 2009 in a play off as well. 

And lost there in 2010 when Jonathan Byrd made a hole in one during the playoff on 17. He plays very well there.

[iBanesto]

Great win from Laird.

 

Amazing up and down on the 17th.

 

Laird seems to have lost distance off tee? Interesting position at the top of swing.

 

 

[grm24]

2 hours ago, iBanesto said:

Great win from Laird.

 

Amazing up and down on the 17th.

 

Laird seems to have lost distance off tee? Interesting position at the top of swing.

 

 

Not sure how much swing speed he might have lost but he can still move it out there when needed. He averaged 323 off the tee in LV on the measuring holes. Ranked 15th in the field.

[Titleist99]

But that bunker shot though! Amazing!....can't say that I witnessed a better one.....

[grm24]

1 minute ago, Titleist99 said:

But that bunker shot though! Amazing!....can't say that I witnessed a better one.....

 

Great shot for sure. Here a couple other amazing bunker hole outs from buried lies.

 

 

 

[Titleist99]

While those were 9.5.....Martin Laird's was a 10....IMO .....LOL!

[RobotDoctor]

Great to see a Colorado State University alum winning (being that I live in Fort Collins)!