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THE BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN

July 6, 2010

Martin Laird

LUSS, SCOTLAND

GORDON SIMPSON: Martin, welcome back to The Barclays Scottish Open. Your thoughts on being top ten last year and coming back this year.
MARTIN LAIRD: Last year was probably the most fun I've had in a golf tournament, playing in front of the home crowd at the Scottish Open, and I've been looking forward to coming back ever since, and Barclays were nice enough to give me a spot again this year, and I'm playing next week. And so it's a dream for me coming back and playing Loch Lomond and playing next week again.
GORDON SIMPSON: You've not knocked off a win yet this year, but fourth is your highest finish in the States, isn't it.
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, fourth at start of the year in Hawaii. I struggled at the start of last year as I have over the years; and it was so early in the year, it was last year's carryover, and played great starting out. And then struggled a little bit, but really starting to play well again the last few months, finished 10th at Colonial a few weeks ago. And my game is starting to come around at the right time because I have these two big events and a great stretch when I go back, so it's good.
GORDON SIMPSON: I'm sure you wouldn't mind winning either week in Scotland.
MARTIN LAIRD: No, to win the Scottish Open, obviously that would be as good as it gets and the same with The Open.
So taking a lot of confidence of how I played last year here and love the golf course, played nine holes yesterday and 18 today. I think it sets up great for me, and for some reason, I like the looks off the tee and stuff. So I'm hoping for a good week.

Q. When did you arrive in Scotland and what have you done since you got here?
MARTIN LAIRD: I've been here a week now. The last tournament I played was in Connecticut, went to New York and flew out of there and got here last Tuesday. Didn't really do much Tuesday. Played golf at Lundin Links with my dad (Charles) on Wednesday; that was fun, get on a links course. And it was playing firm and fast, and it was interesting coming from America and not seeing a course like that for a while.
Then I showed up for a friend who was getting married, and went and played the Old Course on Saturday to get a little early practise in for next week. Then I came over here yesterday morning.

Q. You're a Scot by birth and a Scot by pride, but your career is now in America. What would it mean winning The Open at St. Andrews? Is that the absolute ultimate?
MARTIN LAIRD: Yes, for me I think it is and I'm sure for a lot of guys it is. Just to play next week at the Old Course in The Open is as good as it gets for me.
As I said, it's kind of the dream two weeks, because outside of maybe playing The Open at St. Andrews, this is as good as it gets for me, too, playing around here, only 20 minutes from where I grew up, and our friends and family could come out and watch and to have the home support is really good.

Q. Was there a time in your younger life when you were a teenager when you actually did dream about winning an Open at St. Andrews?
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, I'm sure I probably hit a putt at one time imagining it was winning The Open at St. Andrews or something like that. I remember as a kid watching The Open there; that hopefully one day I would have the chance, and it's only every five years, so you have to take advantage of the chance. And to do it this year the way I did it, was very special, and I'm looking forward to next week.
GORDON SIMPSON: Which one do you remember watching in person?
MARTIN LAIRD: I'm guessing -- I can't remember. It wasn't 2005 so it was probably 2000.
GORDON SIMPSON: Woods.
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah.

Q. Just wondered how you played at the Old Course over the weekend, and how many times have you been there?
MARTIN LAIRD: That was actually the sixth round I've ever played there. I played about 12 years ago in a schools event. I think I played four rounds there and then I played it in end of November last year when I was back over with my dad. And then you know, went over on Saturday. It's definitely a course you need to play a lot to get used to the lines.
You just get used to it. I think there were only four tee shots you see your ball land and see where it finishes. I went with a caddie that he's caddied there since 1976. He's caddied in three or four Opens, and I took him around with my regular caddie on Saturday to really give us some advice and tell us where to go and where not to go, and that was a big help.

Q. Having played the Lundin Links as you said and going to St. Andrews, were you surprised Lundin Links was very bouncy, is are you surprised at the contrast?
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, Lundin was probably the bumpiest golf course I've ever seen. I was joking with my dad; my chipping was shocking because I couldn't believe how short you had to land it. I went to St. Andrews and was wondering if it would be the same. It was still bouncing and firm, but Lundin Links, you couldn't get anymore fiery than it was.
But I'm sure -- I don't know what the weather is like, but if it doesn't rain too much, I'm sure they will have it nice and firm by the time Thursday comes around for The Open.

Q. Firstly, you sound like a man who lost with your father when you're talking about bounces --
MARTIN LAIRD: No, me and my dad played with a couple of his friends. We did lose.

Q. The other thing is, is there a piece of advice still ringing in your ears from that local caddie at St. Andrews?
MARTIN LAIRD: You know, a lot of good information he gave us about lines off tees and certain flags we looked at in Open Championships, and ones that you don't really go for; you just hit at the back of the green and things like that. I don't remember one piece of advice that really stuck with me.

Q. What did he say when you got to the 17th tee?
MARTIN LAIRD: It was funny because we got back to 17th tee and I said to him, "Where is the line here?" And he comes in -- and he said, "I've actually never been on this tee box before." He didn't even know the line on 17. But we figured out very quickly, two balls over the sheds and figured it out and that was fine. He gave me some advice coming into 17, so that was good.

Q. After a very severe winter, what was your impression here when you came?
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, I had even heard over in the States, they had been struggling. And with updates from The European Tour on the greens, and I was curious to see, because I knew the winter had been bad, and when I got here yesterday, I mean, I was pleasantly shocked. I thought they were -- the way they were talking, I thought we were going to be struggling with them.
But they are good. They are a little bumpy but not anything you are going to see -- that's going to be too affected. As I said, I was very surprised how good a job they had done. The focus in the locker room was how they were not very long ago. What they have done to get them in the state that they are, they are very playable, and you can't make any comments about the greens at the end of the week.

Q. There are some strange figures in the performance stats in the PGA Tour: You're 12th in greens in regulation and 159th in putting average. Can you talk about that?
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, I've been hitting it good -- well, all year. I had two months where I struggled and didn't play well. I really struggled on the greens; a bit of a combination going to West Coast tournaments there in America, the greens tend not to be very -- as good. It's early in the year and they are kind of bumpy.
I went there and played three weeks in a row and completely lost my confidence on the greens and that kind of carried over for a little longer. But I feel like I'm starting to putt a little better. I think, if I remember my stats, when I finished 10th in Colonial, I was in Top-5 in both putting stats and that was great for me to see that I can do it.
But that's definitely one part of my game I need to get more consistent with; instead of my coach and I have been working hard on my long game and other aspects of my short game and they have all come around. So it's time for me to just kind of get a little more consistent on my putting.

Q. Putting seems to be a Scottish Achilles heel; is there a bad Scottish putting Gene?
MARTIN LAIRD: As a kid, I never worker on my putting from October to about June because the greens at Hilton Park, they just were not good enough to stand there and practise your putting.
I remember in the winter when I would go practise, I would just go to the driving range and hit balls for a few hours and never go practise my putting. Who knows, that might having? To do with it, that might have something to do with mine. That's one thing in America that there is a difference, where I am in Arizona, all through the year, you can pretty much be putting on perfect greens so you can definitely get some good practise in.

Q. Did you detect a muttering in the locker rooms for the Americans not being happy with the success of the Europeans this year?
MARTIN LAIRD: No, I've not heard that. It's great, I love seeing it, too. Obviously Justin the last few weeks playing great and Graeme winning the U.S. Open was fantastic to see. But no, I've not heard any of that.
Justin plays pretty much full-time in the States so everyone knows him and gets on well with him. I've not heard -- there may be a few players that are thinking that there's too many Europeans winning, but I've not heard anything of it.

Q. You said you had fun here last year, but you had quite a gathering; does it not put extra pressure on you and how many will you have this week and next week at St. Andrews?
MARTIN LAIRD: I don't know how many. I know last year I remember seeing people I didn't expect to see coming out. One of the days they had a stag party starting off, so that was an extra group one day. I'm expecting at nice group this week, and I'm expecting the same, maybe if not a little more next week.
No, I don't really -- for me I don't really feel extra pressure. I just like playing back home in Scotland. It's great to get a chance -- in America, there's very few places where I'll go where I'll hear people say, "Come on Martin, make a few birdies," and people cheering directly for me; whereas it's great when you come over here.
I remember playing Sunday last year, I wasn't playing very good on the front nine, walking up No. 8, I heard a few people shout walk willing off the 8th green, "Come on Martin, keep it up," and that's nice to hear when you are kind of struggling a bit on the final day. And I went on to play good on the back nine. It's great to play in front the home crowd.
GORDON SIMPSON: Well, Martin, thanks very much for joining us today, and have a great week and maybe you can start with a 65 again this time.

End of FastScripts

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