Fall of the diligent Martin Laird at the Players Championship
Scotsman Martin Laird turned out to be the most unfortunate player in the final round of the Players Championship when he surged into contention earlier in the day, pulling in a mammoth six birdies to share an early lead after his brilliant front nine.
Laird, who shot a brilliant 65 on the opening day of the championship to clinch the lead, performed well throughout the rest of the weekend but his disastrous rounds of 73 and a humble 72 in the middle destroyed his hopes of landing the elusive title.
He carded a stunning five-under, 67 on the final day, losing the title to Matt Kuchar by a mere two strokes.
Laird said, "I knew I was right in the middle of it. I didn't have a specific number in my head but I knew if I shot 4, 5, 6 under, I would have a chance. It didn't mean I thought I was going to do it but that's where I wanted to go. It was set up that,
if you play good, you can shoot 5, 6 under, and, if you don't, you're going to shoot over par”.
Laird started his birdie run on the second hole on the front nine and went over to card another two birdies before making the turn.
He pulled in three straight birdies on the starting holes of the back nine and dropped his first shot of the day at par-four, 14th.
Disappointed by a bogey on the closing holes, Laird carded another birdie to make up for the loss and decided to go offensive on the closing holes to land the title.
He fell for a bogey on the 18th to settle for a runner up behind Kuchar.
The Scotsman lauded Kuchar’s exceptional performance on the final day.
He added, "He's just such an easy-going guy, that's obviously a good attitude to have when you're out here on Sunday on this golf course”.
Winner of four professional events, Laird has surged into contention on quite a few occasions starting this year.
His strong finish at the treacherous TPC Sawgrass speaks volumes of his form and is likely to land his third PGA Tour victory sooner than later this year.
The Scotsman lives in Scottsdale, Arizona and was the only Scottish player on the PGA before Russell Knox made his debut on the tour in 2011.
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