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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

September 3, 2008

Martin Laird

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome Martin Laird into the interview room here at the BMW Championship. Thanks for coming by and spending a few minutes with us. It's been quite a three- or four-week stretch for you where you've continued to advance in not only the regular season, playing yourself into the playoffs, but what you've done the last two weeks, as well. Just comment on what that stretch, run has been like for you.
MARTIN LAIRD: I mean, yeah, it's been quite a run. You know, six, seven weeks ago I never thought it was in there. But you know, it's amazing what some confidence can do.
You know, my goal was kind of just to get in the playoffs and see what happens. I would never have thought I'd be here and have a chance for a really good week this week, maybe getting even in the TOUR Championship. That's something at the start of the year I never even considered.
JOHN BUSH: Currently 61st in the standings so you've got a little bit of work to do this week. Just comment on your preparations for the week.
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, I have not looked to see what I need to do, where I need to finish. All I know is it's got to be good. I'm just trying to take care of really a couple other things this week, play good, make enough money where I've locked up my card for next year, just kind of try and treat it like a normal tournament and see what happens. If I finish, whatever it is, top three, to get in the TOUR Championship, that's going to be great. But that's really not -- I wouldn't say it's a goal this week, it's just something if it happens I'll obviously be extremely happy.

Q. There's a lot of talk about the changes in the structure of the playoffs this year. I gather you've got to like the way it goes. If there's anything you would tweak, what would it be at this time?
MARTIN LAIRD: Obviously I'm on the right hand of the changes this year. It's worked to my benefit. I don't know if they're going to change them or anything. You know, I like it, I guess, in the sense that if you're playing well, you do get rewarded. You don't have to play -- you don't have to have a top two or three to move on. If you finish Top 10 on the PGA TOUR you've played well, and if you do that a couple times, you keep going, you deserve to.
I understand where there's the problem with, say, someone like Padraig has won two majors this year, and if he doesn't play great this week he might not get in the TOUR Championship. Is that good for the PGA TOUR? I mean, I don't think anyone would say that it is, having a two-time major champion not playing the TOUR Championship.
But at the same time, I think you've got to have a system that rewards guys that are playing well at the right time, which is what the word playoffs is all about.

Q. Could you just talk about your general satisfaction level at this year? You got in position to have a good year and raised your game a little bit and just -- you're here in the final 70. Talk about how you got here and how satisfying that is.
MARTIN LAIRD: I mean, yeah, when I came into this year confident enough having a good year. I played good the last few events last year on the Nationwide Tour, and I felt like my game was good enough. I felt like my game was suited to the PGA TOUR because I hit it high and I hit it pretty long. I felt everything set up good for -- not an easy year but a year where I would come out and not struggle too much. Then I got a real reality check at the start of the year and I was struggling a little bit, and I realized my short game probably wasn't quite good enough, my wedge game definitely wasn't good enough.
And that really kind of killed me. I lost all confidence. I was having no satisfaction until about six, seven weeks ago. I've said many times, I started thinking, do I belong out here right now, is my game good enough yet? I know I could be at some point, but is it yet?
And then it's amazing what a couple of good weeks and a little bit of confidence did. I kind of back-doored a Top 5 at Reno, and that really gave me a lot of confidence that I can compete, can finish at the top of the leaderboard, so it's kind of just snowballed from there. Every week I've gained a little more confidence, my game has gotten a little better. It's not really that I've made any major changes, just everything has gotten a little sharper. Satisfaction-wise, you know, right now I'm extremely satisfied with where I'm at.
JOHN BUSH: Have you played the course yet?
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, I played yesterday. I really like the golf course. I thought last week played pretty long. This week it's a really long golf course. There's a couple of those par-4s that if the wind is going the opposite way or into, half the guys in the field might not be able to get to some of them, especially if we get this rain. It's a week you've got to drive it good this week, because even -- I don't care how long you hit it, if you're driving it in the rough on those 500-yard par-4s you're probably not going to be able to get it there.
I think this week with the greens as slopy as they are, there's a real premium on ball-striking. The greens are so slopy you've got to hit it in the right spots, and if you're hitting on the wrong side of some of these slopes out here, you're going to be struggling to two-putt all week, never mind making birdies.
JOHN BUSH: Without a cut, does that change your focus the first couple rounds?
MARTIN LAIRD: It's nice. I wouldn't say it changes my focus. I don't really think about the cut until maybe back nine Friday if I'm lingering around it. I don't know, I've never played an event without a cut, so I don't know if it'll free me up a little bit more the first couple rounds. It's nice to know I'm going to be here all four days. Even if you got off to a bad start, you do have three more rounds to make up the ground as opposed to normally you've got to play good the next day or you're going home.

Q. You probably haven't spent any time thinking about next year, but what's it going to be like being fully exempt, being able to set a schedule, just like one of the stars and all that, and you've obviously established yourself. How much of a bonus is that going to be for you next year?
MARTIN LAIRD: Well, I've got to get there first and then it will be a bonus. But yeah, that's something that's big, picking a schedule. Like this year, it was tough in the summer. I think that was part of why I played so bad. I'd be one week on, two weeks off, maybe two weeks on, three weeks off. I just didn't know when I was going to play. I couldn't get any rhythm going. So that's a bonus, yeah. I played this year, played a bunch of tournaments. I know which courses I like, which events I really liked, and I can kind of single them out next year and build a schedule around that.
But that's definitely something that's a huge advantage, being fully exempt is. I noticed that last year on Nationwide because I played Nationwide in 2005 with conditional status so I didn't know when I was getting in. When you can pick your schedule, it's so much easier.

Q. This year will be the first time in a long time that the European Ryder Cup team won't have a Scot on it. Your thoughts?
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, that's a sorry sight. You know, Scottish golf is in a little bit of a lull right now, I guess. Montgomerie has been flying the flag for the last 10, 15 years, and he's not played as well as he'd hoped this year. But yeah, it's kind of -- I think it's kind of sad for Scottish golf. But there's a bunch of young Scottish players that are starting to play a little better. Hopefully it won't happen again for a few years.

Q. Why is it in a lull when England seems to be producing so many good young players?
MARTIN LAIRD: You know, I don't know. That's the thing; you look at the amateur results, I mean, Scotland every year does well in the big amateur events, wins the home internationals, Richie Ramsay wins the U.S. Amateur. All over the world, amateurs play well. And there's just something right now when they turn pro, I don't know whether it's lack of -- a little bit lack of support or going the wrong direction. I don't know. It's definitely something that's happened.
I was lucky enough where I played college golf over here, and when I turned pro I had sponsors that helped me, so I didn't have any kind of financial pressure when I first turned pro over here, and that helped me a lot. A lot of those guys turn pro and they've got to start making money right away or they're pretty much done, and that's a lot of pressure when you're just turning. The difference between Scotland and England, I don't know, I can't really explain it.

Q. I was wondering about your thoughts on Faldo's captain's picks.
MARTIN LAIRD: I mean, I think almost everyone knew it was between Poulter, Casey and Clarke. I thought it would be Clarke for sure. I have not really looked at it to see how he's been playing, I just know he'd won a couple times in the last month or two, and he's a great character, I guess, to have on the Ryder Cup. But both those guys are playing great, though. I'm not sure what Poulter is, I think he's 23rd in the world or something like that.
I don't think that you can go wrong with any of those -- whichever two of those three guys you pick, I think you're going to do fine, and it looks like a strong team on paper.

Q. Speaking of that, I don't know if you've played much golf, two of the guys we haven't seen much are Oliver Wilson and SÃ¸ren Hansen over here. Have you played with them at all? Are you familiar with their games? Can you give us any kind of a scouting report on how they play?
MARTIN LAIRD: I know absolutely nothing at all about either of them.
JOHN BUSH: Thank you, Martin, and play well this week.

End of FastScripts

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