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ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP


October 7, 2010


Martin Laird


CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND

MARTIN LAIRD: Obviously pleased with how it started. Hit the ball nicely. It was kind of one of those rounds I hit it nice at the start and didn't really make any putts. Just tried to stay patient and then finally started going in the back nine which is good.

Q. When did you get here?
MARTIN LAIRD: I got here Sunday night, late. A little delay out of Phoenix Saturday, so I didn't get here until --

Q. Do you see any Ryder Cup at all?
MARTIN LAIRD: I didn't see too much with the time change. An eight-hour time change is kind of hard. I would see the last couple of hours every day, if there was any, because of the rain and I watched most of it on Monday. I didn't see the last probably hour on Monday. I went over to St. Andrews to actually play.

Q. You'd like to be there in two years' time?
MARTIN LAIRD: That's the pinnacle for me. I just have to look and see all of the fun those guys have, they say the it's the most nerve-wracking they will say, but if you ask them, they will also say it's the most fun they have had playing golf. Any time you get to play in something that big, that's definitely a goal.

Q. Will you do anything different with your schedule?
MARTIN LAIRD: I won't do anything different. I say that right now but all depends how I play next year. If I have a really good year next year, that would be something coming back over to Europe the following year and try to play more events and get some more points playing over in Europe. That would definitely be something, if that was the situation --

Q. Have you ever played Medinah?
MARTIN LAIRD: No, so I don't know anything about it really.

Q. Did you get a practise round here?
MARTIN LAIRD: I did. I played yesterday. I played yesterday. Loved it, never played it before. I played nine holes with Robert Karlsson the back nine and that was a big help. He won here a few years ago and he knows his way around it. There's a couple of holes, we played the par 5 16.
He told us yesterday, don't go for this flag, just hit it the front of the green. I wanted to hit 5-iron today because that would have been perfect going into the flag but we remembered what he said, hit the front of the green, made an easy birdie. Things like that, if I had not played before, who knows where I would have hit it. Might have gone in the water.

Q. Best of your birdies today?
MARTIN LAIRD: Best of my birdies? I don't know. The one on 17 was quite nice. We probably had the wrong play off the tee. I hit driver and looking back, that was not on the golf course. Should have hit 5-wood. Hit a terrible tee shot way left, got lucky and holed a 20, 25-footer. That was kind of a nice one.

Q. Is this better for you?
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, this is a bit better. You can you don't have to hit it ten feet off the ground when it's blowing like this whereas in the summer at St. Andrews it was a little different.
I wanted to come back and almost prove to myself that I can play links golf because my record in links golf was not very good after playing Turnberry and St. Andrews the last two years.

Q. You got off to a good start at Loch Lomond last year, was it?
MARTIN LAIRD: I played good a couple years ago at Loch Lomond. Last year, the weather was a bit fierce, too, and I finished about 25th and felt like I played okay. Any time I get to come back here, I love it.

Q. You said you meet come back to a couple next year, here, if you can fit them in?
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, I'm in The Open already next year. I'm getting married two weeks after that, so I'm not going to be playing too much about that. Hopefully I can come back and play the likes of this tournament again and a couple other in Europe and see how I go.

Q. Your goals must be pretty ambitious now after this year, it's been another year's progression.
MARTIN LAIRD: The only thing I felt like's been holding me back has been my putting and since I started working with the Stocktons, Dave Stockton, Junior in America, ever since I started working with him at Firestone, my putting has been good. I feel like if I keep that up on the green, my ball-striking where it was or even get a little better, I know I can move way up the World Rankings and start challenging in majors and things. You look at guys like Kaymer and McDowell winning, it gives you motivation to be up there with them.
I've never played with Graeme but I've played with Martin a few times in the States. He actually lives in Arizona, too, Scottsdale. It's a little motivation when you see those guys winning.

Q. You'll see where you are once you get married?
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, based there still.

Q. First FedExCup event, so close; how did you reflect?
MARTIN LAIRD: To be honest, I probably surprised myself how well I took it. You know, there's still a few times where I look back and it's like, oh, so close.
But you know when I really think about it, I played so well. I didn't feel like I had my best game that week. I just chipped and putted well. If I look back and think that I really didn't have -- it wasn't as if I played as good as I could and still came up short. I really feel like I had a few more good shots in me and that's a lot of confidence. Obviously didn't go the way I wanted but still worked out very well.

Q. Fluke shot that beat you anyway.
MARTIN LAIRD: Yeah, it's tough. I mean, I don't know what he'll say about it, but you know, Matt is a great guy, and it was just the way it all worked out.

End of FastScripts




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