La Quinta, CA …

Martin Laird headed to the clubhouse delighted to finish inside the top-10 after the first event of his 10th season at the Career Builder Challenge at La Quina, California.

The Scot signed for a closing three under par 69 for a 14-under par tally on the Stadium Course at PGA West.

Laird had been lying 10th when he walked from the course and had moved up to a share of ninth as the leaders had just a few holes to play before Laird was credited with an official share of 9th.

Scotland’s Martin Laird heads to the scorer’s hut with a top-10 finish in his very first event of his 10th season at a pro. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)

“It’s always nice to start a New Year well after a break, as the game this week was pretty solid,” he said.

“I played really nicely in the second round shooting a 66 and the other three rounds were solid.  I felt like like my game wasn’t quite as sharp as I would have liked it but it was, as I said, it was very solid.

“The big thing was that I drove the ball very solid all week and I can’t think of one hole where I drove it into a bad spot and that’s pretty important.”

Laird was remaining in La Quinta before heading down to San Diego on Monday to prepare for Thursday’s starting Farmers Insurance Open at the Torrey Pines club, and where Tiger Woods is making his return to full competition for a first time since sharing 10th place in the 2015 Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.

And while the golf world will be focused on Woods, Laird is heading to one of his favourite venues all season.

“The Farmers Insurance is one of my favourite venues and then it’s back home for the week after and the Waste Management Open in Phoenix then back to Pebble Beach and the Genesis Open at Riviera,” he said.

“So it means I am playing five in a row and I am looking forward to it, and also seeing my game get a little better with each round.”