First there was the miracle bunker shot and then there was a wild tee shot bouncing off a cart parth before returning to that same hole to capture a second Shriners Hospital for Children’s Open in Las Vegas.

Martin Laird fourth PGA Tour success already had everything in leading to the play-off but with the Scot then securing victory with a final dramatic birdie putt on the TPC Summerlin course in Las Vegas.

Laird, 37 had sensationally eagled the par-5 ninth hole but after a bogey at the last in a round 68 Laird found himself tied at the end of regulation play on 23-under par with American’s Matthew Wolfe (66) and Austin Cook (66).

Then in the play-off Laird left his younger American opponents gob-smacked in holing a 22-foot birdie putt at the second extra hole, the par-3 17th.

Remarkably, it was Laird’s third play-off at the Las Vegas event and he made it two from three to secure a fourth PGA Tour success.

It’s been 2,744 days since the proud Scot captured the 2013 Valero Texas Open and now he’s a winner again on golf’s biggest stage.

“It’s been seven years since my last win but then since returning to competition my game has been feeling really good and I’ve been playing well,” he said.

“I just really haven’t had the results but then I love it here.

“Shriners were nice enough to give me a sponsor’s invitation so a big thank you to Shriner’s but I am really going to enjoy this win.

“As you can tell it’s emotional and I can’t wait to get back to see my kids and my wife and celebrate with them.”

The now Denver-based Laird, and who had to undergo an emergency operation on his knee during the lockdown, went into the final day of the $7m event sharing the lead at 20-under par with American Patrick Cantlay and it was a steady start for Laird with five outwards pars before back-to-back birdies on the sixth, where he holed a 12-footer, and then a birdie on seven in sinking a 15-footer.

Laird dropped a shot at the eighth before coming to the par-5 ninth hole.

He found the fairway with a 297-yard drive and with his 250-yard second shot missing the green by no more than six inches but landing virtually almost buried under the edge of a bunker, and some 20-feet shy of the flag.

No sooner had Laird taken his stance, and with his right foot in the bunker, TV ‘experts’ were remarking:  “Oh, this is an awful shot”.  “He’s got a terrible lie” and “He may not get this out.”

Laird took his time before blasting out and with sand drifting into his face and over his body, he watched as his ball landed on the green and rolled all the way to the bottom of the cup.  There was no-one more delighted than the Scot with the eagle ‘3’ moving him to 23-under par and now three shots in front of his rivals.

Laird had played the 9th – birdie, eagle, birdie and now eagle – to be six-under on the one hole.

Within just two further holes, Tour video footage of Laird’s bunker shot had attracted over 85,000 Twitter ‘views’.

This was almost impossible. 😳 😳 😳

A contender for shot of the season from Martin Laird.

This eagle gives him a 3-shot lead @ShrinersOpen.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/vYzLTDdWvy

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 11, 2020

Laird gave one shot back with a bogey at 10 to drop back into a then share of the lead at 22-under with American Austin Cook who birdied both the 12th and 13th but then bogeyed the next to leave Laird leading by one.

Though the 29-year old Arkansas golfer would not go away grabbing a birdie on 15 to tie Laird but with the Scot playing  a super uphill lie second shot from the leftside of the par-5 13th and then getting up-and-down from some 60-feet from the flag for the third birdie of his round and move back to 23-under par.

Laird then displayed his class in seizing a fourth birdie at the par-4 15th when he was forced to putt from the shadow on a TV tower that completely covered his complete distance of his putt.

And if Laird produced a miracle bunker shot on nine, he produced a miracle par at the par-3 17th when he tee shot went way right and cannoning off a cart path, and with trees now blocking his approach to the green.

An NBC TV commentator remarked:  “He will be lucky to make ‘4’ from there!”

Laird hit a lot shot between the trees onto the green and then calmly holed an incredible 17-foot putt ahead of more drama at the last and saving par from 28-foot before missing the green right at the last and taking a bogey ‘5’ to send the event into a play-off.

Despite the late round drama, Laird collects a cool $1.2m for his win and a Tour exemption to end of the 2022/23 season.

The proud Scot can also start making arrangements to return to January’s Tournament of Champions as well as teeing-up in the 2021 Masters, and in what will be a first appearance in eight years.

Victory also will see Laird jump some 271 spots on the World Rankings to No. 87 in the world and his highest ranking since June 2017 in finishing T3rd at the Quicken Loans Open.

“I was looking forward to coming back after the break and had to have knee surgery and was back on the sofa for a while,” he said.

“Since then, been working really hard. Like I said, I feel like my game has been good the last two, three weeks. Just haven’t been getting the results that I wanted. Didn’t make the putts.

“That’s the one thing that’s been holding me back is my putting. To make that huge par putt I did here on 17 in regulation, and then really nearly make two in a row on 18 and then make that, it’s really nice that the putter kind of saved me coming down the stretch and won it for me.”