Martin Laird returns to defend the Arnold Palmer Invitational title – Golf News
Scotland’s Martin Laird is back at Bay Hill to defend his title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, scheduled to start from March 22 to 25, 2012.
It would not be wrong to say that Laird survived in last year’s final round of the event rather than surging to the top to earn the victory.
He carded a total of three birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey on the day, an unconventional way to win any event, especially on a tour like PGA.
After such a disappointing score, he still had a one-stroke margin over Steve Marino to record his fourth professional victory.
While entering the final round, he had a four-stroke lead over his opponents. However, the lead vanished early in the round.
That was because of the bogeys to start off his defence of the overnight lead. Later, he took 12 holes to score his first birdie of the round.
Moreover, he birdied two of the last four that he played. The luckiest moment came for him when Steve Marino made a double bogey to give him a one-stroke lead in the end.
"I knew it was going to be hard," said Laird, whose 3-over-par 75 was the highest final round by a Bay Hill winner. "But I had no idea just how hard it was going to be".
He added, "The thing that I take the most out of [is] I was playing bad and then birdied two of my last four holes. That is the hardest four-hole finish we play all year".
Laird believes that such a performance will never help him again in any tournament, as it was just luck. It does not happen very often, especially on big tours.
In the 2012 golf season, he has already recorded two top-five finishes, including a runner-up position in the season-opener Tournament of Champions.
He also reached the quarter finals of the World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play Championship.
Therefore, he is in good form this year and confident to register another consecutive win at Bay Hill.
Moreover, his performance in the tournament will also play a crucial part in boosting his morale for the Masters Tournament scheduled in the following week.
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