'The grind of 20 years of travelling finally hit me' - Martin Laird on feeling re-energised back in Scotland

“Yeah, someone even asked me yesterday if I was here playing last week,” he laughed, referring to the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, the first leg of a double-header at the Menie Estate venue, which is now staging its first DP World Tour event, the $2.75 million Nexo Championship, this week. “I was like ‘steady on, I’m eight years away from that!’”

Back in 2012, US-based Laird joined Colin Montgomerie, last week’s tournament host, as the star golfing guests at the opening of Donald Trump’s first course in Scotland. “I played with Eric and Don jnr (Trump’s sons) and Monty played in front of us with the main man,” he recalled.

At that time, Laird had won twice on the PGA Tour and then added two more title triumphs on the US circuit. He was Scotland’s leading light on the other side of the Atlantic for a number of years before losing his full status at the end of last year and being left with a conditional card instead.

On the face of, it seems as though it’s been a tough 2025 campaign for the Glasgow-born player and perhaps even the toughest of his career. He’s only made nine starts on the PGA Tour and three more on the Korn Ferry Tour. Now he’s teeing up on the DP World Tour thanks to a category that was introduced last season to provide opportunities for PGA Tour players with conditional status.

“I don’t think I would use the word tough as it’s kind of been nice this year,” said Laird, speaking to The Scotsman as he prepared to join 14 of nhis compatriots in the first DP World Tour event to be held at a Trump-owned venue. “Both from a family point of view and a me point of view, too. Last year was the first year that I would admit that at times I didn’t want to be out there. I had full status and was playing in great tournaments, but my game wasn’t great and the grind of 20 years of travelling finally just hit me, I think.

“My kids are older now and I was missing stuff with them. A lot of it, of course, is tied to how you are playing. If you are not playing great and it’s a battle every week, it is tough to keep going all the time. At the end of last year, I was annoyed to lose my card. But, at the same time, I pretty much had December, January, February and half of March off. I’d never been at home for three months prior to that in 20 years. It was brilliant. I needed it. It was like a reset.”

Missing the cut by a shot in four straight events on the PGA Tour earlier in the year proved a tough pill to swallow, but, after finishing joint-34th in the ISCO Championship last month then tying for 11th the following week in the Barracuda Championship, he’s returned home for this week’s assignment with a spring in his step.

“Honestly, being back here has energised me, too,” declared Laird, who has Mike Thomson, who caddied for Bob MacIntyre for a spell, on his bag this week. “I’ve been in the US for 25 years now, which is sometimes hard to believe. But I love my roots here and I love playing links golf. I played in the hard wind yesterday and played pretty nice, which was surprising as I haven’t played in wind like that for a while. My game is in good shape but, in a week like this when it is this windy and this hard a course, you could play well and still struggle.

“I came here to be competitive. It’s not a case of me just coming over here and saying ‘hello’ or some sort of ceremonial visit (laughing). It’s almost like a point to prove to myself that I can still come back here and play in these conditions. I still love the competition and there is nothing better than when you get the juices flowing and you feel like your game is in a spot where you can hit the shots you want to hit. So, hopefully, it will be the same here over the next four days because it would be great to be in contention in Scotland.”

Laird has made more than 400 PGA Tour appearances, amassing career earnings of close to $23 million. His most recent win was in the 2020 Shriners Hospital for Children Open in Las Vegas and, though it has just got tougher with the US circuit reducing the number of full card holders at the end of a season from 125 to 100, he is hoping to regain a seat at the top table.

“I’ve talked about that a little bit this year,” he said. “Barring me going and winning a tournament in the Fall or playing really good for two or three weeks, the only other route available to me really is to go and play a full season on the Korn Ferry Tour and try and finish in the top 20 on it.

“Or potentially play over here more and get one of those ten cards through the DP World Tour. At this stage of my life with my kids, though, I don’t think I want to start travelling around the world. I am trying to travel less. And, if I committed to this tour, the travel would be worse for me.

“So it is kind of pencilled in for next year to commit to play one full year on the Korn Ferry Tour and see what happens. The Champions Tour is still too far away to have one eye on it, and I still feel like I have got it. I hadn’t played a Korn Ferry Tour event forever and had a chance to win, finishing second. That showed myself that I can still do it as those young guys are pretty good out there, too.

“Having also played well on the PGA Tour as well recently, I know still have it in there. It’s not the game for me right now. It’s more a case of if I have the motivation. Because it is harder now than it ever was. So, for me to go and be competitive, I’ve almost got to work harder and get better than I ever have been.”

In the meantime, look out for him teeing him again on the DP World Tour between now and the end of the season. “Yeah, it depends if I get in events on the Fall Schedule on the PGA Tour,” he said, having brought his wife and kids over for this trip and tying it in with a visit to see his Fife-based parents. “If not, you might see me over here at least in two more tournaments and maybe even more.”