Martin Laird—The Scottish professional golfer has finally made it to the headlines once again after his win at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in 2020. As the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge concluded, Laird was able to secure a T2 position with an impressive -4, one stroke away from Charley Hoffman, who is No. 1 on the leaderboard.

On December 29, 1982, Martin Liard was born in Glasgow, Scotland. The Scottish pro could have joined the “Lefty” club, as he started to play golf with his left hand but later switched sides. Growing up, the Great White Shark—Greg Norman—was one of his golf idols but nobody compared to his dad. Tiger Woods is another golfer whom Liard admires. Back in 2011, the 41-year-old made his Masters debut; he even shared his experience of playing alongside the 15-time major champion and stated, “That was my first Masters and it could not have got any better playing alongside Tiger in the final round and for him to go out and play the way he played and to end the front nine sharing the lead. I can still remember every shot we both hit in that round,”

Apart from his love for the gentleman’s game, the PGA Tour pro has a varied range of passions, from unwinding and relaxing by playing musical instruments to diving into a good book pretty often. During his days as a junior golfer, the Scotsman first played at Kirkintilloch Golf Club and later shifted to Hilton Park Golf to pursue his golf endeavors. Before turning pro, Laird moved to the United States to take up a golf scholarship at Colorado State University.

The 41-year-old Denver, CO, resident got married to the daughter of former professional golf player Hank Franks in 2011. The couple has two children: Jack Andrew and Hannah. They are actively involved with the PGA Tour Wives Association and have successfully organized events sponsored by the association. Meagan has also been the president of the PGA Tour Wives Association.

Martin Laird is quite a patriot and is known to wear the flag of his home country on his golf belt, golf bag, and golf bag. The Glasgow native also has a charitable side to himself. Liard truly believes in the power of golf, is an active ambassador for Scotland’s junior golf development program known as ClubGolf, and helps them introduce golf to every Scottish child by age 9.

Martin Laird joined the professional realm of golf almost two decades ago and is currently ranked in the 99th position of the OWGR list. What have been the highlights of his career until the Charles Schwab Challenge?

How has Martin Laird’s golf career been so far?

Martin Laird played for Colorado State University under head coach Jamie Bermel. After turning pro in 2004, he won his second professional tournament, the Denver Open. In 2007, he played on the Nationwide Tour and won the Athens Regional Foundation Classic in April. 2007 marked a significant year in his career as he qualified for the first major, the US Open, but failed to make the cut.

Laird’s rookie year on the PGA Tour was 2008. Since then, he has only won four events on the American circuit: the 2009–10 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, the 2010 Barclays, and the 2020 Shriners! Last year, he came very close to a fifth win at the 3M Open in July but tied for the runner-up position. The four-time PGA Tour winner had a shaky start to his 2024 campaign. So far, he has played in 12 events and has missed five cuts. However, in the 7 cuts he has made, Liard found himself in the top 10 twice: T9 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches and T10 in the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.

Will Martin Laird lift the Leonard Trophy and clinch his long-awaited fifth victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge? It remains to be seen.