When you’ve lost your full playing rights on the PGA Tour for the first time in 17 years, the last thing you probably want to do is rake over the coals in a phone call with a pesky golf writer.
But hang on a minute. “At my age, after all the years of being on the road, I’m not too upset about getting more time at home with my family,” said Martin Laird with the kind of calm, philosophical acceptance you’d get with a Shaolin monk. “I’m certainly not down in the dumps.”
Laird may have failed to finish in the card-retaining safety zone of the leading 125 on the tour’s money list, but a tie for 17th in his final event of 2024 kept him in the top 150 which gave him conditional status for the new campaign.
Instead of facing a diary that could’ve been as bare as Greta Garbot’s list of social engagements, Laird is expecting a decent schedule of “12 to 18 events.”
Given that he used to average 25-plus tournaments a year, this less is more programme could suit him to a tee.
Laird is 42 and a father to a couple of young ‘uns. He’s been bouncing here, there and everywhere since he left Glasgow as a teenager to begin his American odyssey as a student at Colorado State University.
The Scot carried the saltire with wonderful aplomb on the toughest tour in the world for years and burnished his career with four PGA Tour wins between 2009 and 2020. Sustained excellence, and constant travel, takes a toll, though.
“The competitive edge is still there but in, recent years, touring life has become much more like a job,” he said. “The travel is a slog. I’m not afraid to admit it but the tour has become a lot lonelier too simply because a lot of the guys I came up with, shared houses with, went to dinners with have lost their status. Russell Knox (fellow Scot) was one and I hardly see him now.”
Laird’s breakthrough back in 2009 was the first victory on the PGA Tour by a Scot since Sandy Lyle’s Masters win in 1988. Inverness exile Knox would win twice while Robert MacIntyre has added two more to the tartan tally.
“Both Russell and myself were away from Scotland for a long time and maybe those wins were under-appreciated a bit,” said Laird. “I’m glad we have a young guy like Bob flying the flag now. Any win over here is an amazing feat. The tour is getting younger and stronger all the time.
“Scores that used to win events are finishing 20th now. I think eight wins among the three of us in the last 15 years is not a bad rate. I’m sure Bob will add to that. And I still believe I can win again too.
“I met Bob a few years ago and knew he had the game for America. He struggled with home sickness, and I get that. Being on the road is tough even when you live over here. But he’s figured it out and he’ll be around for a good few years.”
Laird’s own longevity is something that he is, quite rightly, proud of. “If you’d told me when I turned pro in 2004 that I would have four wins after 17 years on the PGA Tour I would’ve been beyond ecstatic,” he said.
“I think one of the reasons I was successful was that I never got ahead of myself. I didn’t have all these lofty aspirations. You hear people saying, ‘I’m targeting this and I want to reach there’. But that can just end up in disappointment if you don’t get there.
“It’s maybe the Scottish mentality too. We just put our head down, get to work and see what happens.”
As he climbs the brae on the age front, Laird knows things won’t get any easier on the tour. Sweeping changes that come in next year, which will reduce field sizes and cut membership categories, will only make it tougher.
The elite players who demanded a bigger chomp at the pie are happy. The rank and file are not so chipper.
Like a Joni Mitchell musing, Laird can see both sides. “I’ll be honest, I always felt the tour was maybe too accommodating to guys at the tail end of their careers who were only playing two or three times a year and weren’t that competitive,” he said.
“Is that a great product? I don’t think it is. You hear some players saying, ‘I played out here for all these years and I should be getting starts’. But look at other sports? As soon as you’re not good enough, you’re gone.
“At the same time, I think they are making some pretty drastic cuts. It seems like they have just taken an axe to it. Player power is now stronger than it’s ever been. Only time will tell if this is the right decision.”
The time, meanwhile, has hurtled by for Laird. “I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved in 20 years,” he said. “I wouldn’t change my career. And it’s certainly not over yet.”
