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Fresh from his fourth PGA Tour victory last weekend, Scotland’s Martin Laird says that it would be a dream to make the European team for next year’s Ryder Cup – but insists that he’s not even thinking about it right now.
Laird, 37, ended a winless drought stretching back more than seven years when he won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin on Sunday, beating Matthew Wolff and Austin Cook at the second hole of a sudden-death play-off.
The victory catapulted the Denver-based Glaswegian back into the world’s top-100 and has prompted some on this side of the Atlantic to wonder if a sustained run of form could see the Scot play his way into Harrington’s plans for next year’s rescheduled Ryder Cup.
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However, speaking on the upcoming episode of The bunkered Podcast, Laird played down his prospects.
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“It’s not something I’ve thought about because I haven’t been playing good enough,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t even know [what needs to be done to qualify] because they’ve changed the criteria a few times but, even right now, it’s not on my radar.
“One win kind of out of nowhere isn’t going to be good enough so I need to keep working on what I’ve been doing, try to keep getting a little better at everything and, hopefully, keep reeling off some good finishes.
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“If that leads to the opportunity to play in a Ryder Cup, that would obviously be amazing. People think because I’ve lived over here a long time that I’ve forgotten about it or don’t have that wish. But, no, I’m still 100% Scottish and would love to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup if I ever got that chance.“
Laird added that he hasn’t even got so far as to consider joining the European Tour in order to boost any hopes he might have of making the team. Instead, his focus is firmly on the short-term.
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“If I go to the last two events this year and keep climbing the rankings, then I would have to sit down with my team at the year and think about. If there’s an opportunity there, then obviously I’m going to take it. I would love to be on that team but I’m still a long way from that right now.”
• The full interview with Martin Laird will be available to hear on next week’s episode of The bunkered Podcast. To subscribe for FREE and to get alerts straight to your phone whenever a new episode is released, search for ‘The bunkered Podcast’ on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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