Martin Laird is hopeful he will have locked in qualifying for this year’s Open Championship before the pressure of securing an Old Course tee time a week before at the Aberdeen Assert Management Scottish Open.
The smile returned to Laird’s face when he birdied two of his closing four holes to get back to par on the opening day of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.
Laird, who resides about an hour’s drive from the suburban Charlotte course, was struggling somewhat at two over par after 11 holes when he holed a four-feet putt for birdie at his 15th hole before landing a 104-yard wedge to six feet at his 17th.
Martin Laird peeks over a bunker hoping to qualify for next month’s US Open and the Open Championship at St. Andrews. (Photo – www.golffile.ie)
It left the Scot trailing seven shots behind American Robert Streb who shot a sizzling seven under par 65 to lead fellow American Patrick Reed by a shot in the $US 7.1m event .
Laird is contesting the event for a seventh straight season and clearly looking to improve on a best finish of T26th in 2012.
“I am pretty happy with a 72 considering I was a couple over with four holes to play and really was playing pretty average,” said Laird.
“I didn’t drive the ball well so to get it around in level par driving it poorly wasn’t too bad including hitting a poor tee shot into trees down the left side of my hole but from there I managed to scramble well for par so that was nice to do at the last and it will sure make lunch taste that much nicer.”
Laird’s goal, aside from the obvious of a fourth PGA Tour victory, is to qualify for next month’s U.S. Open and also July’s Open Championship in the week after he tees-up in the Aberdeen Assert Management Scottish Open at Gullane.
“I am playing the next four events so I am going to be playing every event up and including Memphis, and hoping to also qualify for the U.S. Open,” he said.
“I have been playing good of late but also I haven’t been playing enough so hopefully if I can qualify for the U.S. Open it will mean playing five in a row.
“As well, I want to be playing in the Open Championship at St. Andrews and I’ve got two chances in achieving that gaol and that’s via the Hartford event and at the Scottish Open.
“But hopefully I will be able to lock in both Majors before having to go through qualifying.”
