Laird poised to make Playoffs pay off

PARAMUS, N.J. -- Martin Laird knows what it's like to squeak into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. He also knows what it's like to miss them altogether.

THE BARCLAYS

Round 3 Wrap-up
Round 4 Tee Times
The Live Report
Leaderboard
Johnson in position (again)
FedExCup Movers
No fairways for Day
Tiger rallies after triple
The Starter: Round 4
Full Coverage

On Sunday, though, the 29-year-old Scotsman has a chance to make the most of the PGA TOUR's postseason when he takes a three-stroke lead into the final round of The Barclays. And should he go on to win Laird would move from No. 95 into first - with a very real chance to earn the $10 million pot of gold at the end.

"I realized that," Laird said with an impish grin. "I caught a glimpse of the projected FedExCup and I got a little shock."

Two years ago, Laird had moved from 164th to 128th in the final week of the regular season just to get into the Playoffs. He went on to tie for seventh at Ridgewood which bought him another week and he similarly fended off elimination at TPC Boston until finally hitting the skids at the BMW Championship.

Last year, though, Laird got an unexpected month off when he finished 146th at the end of the regular season. So he and his fiancee embarked on a two-week trip to England to visit his two sisters and Laird didn't touch a club until he came back refreshed from his trip across the pond.

"A little different this year," he acknowledged.

As was the case in 2008, Laird is playing some of his best golf at just the right time. He fired a bogey-free 65 on Saturday at Ridgewood that included four straight birdies on the front nine. Laird has improved by two shots every day and leads by three over Dustin Johnson, who'll be his playing partner in Sunday's final round, and young Australian Jason Day.

"The course is definitely playing tougher today," Laird said. "The greens start to get kind of how I remembered it a couple of years ago and how I like it, nice and firm and fast. And I felt comfortable out there all day. Didn't drive the ball particularly well, but when I did miss it, I missed it in the right spot and managed to scramble pretty well."

"I know what's at stake. I'm not going to pretend I don't."

-- Martin Laird

Two years ago, Laird used a 67 in the final round at Ridgewood, a course he says he's been "raving about" ever since, to improve 23 spots and punch his ticket for TPC Boston. That's also the same year he came into the final event of the Fall Series ranked 126th on the money list and secured his card with a tie for 21st.

Laird was in similar straits a year ago when he returned from that vacation in Great Britain. He came to the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open ranked 134th on the money list with four weeks to keep his card. Not only did he do that -- Laird secured the two-year exemption when he won a three-man playoff on the third hole of sudden death.

So make no mistake. Laird knows a thing or two about pressure situations like the one he'll face in the final round.

"I knew I was leading (Saturday)," Laird said. "I didn't look at the leaderboard to see what my lead was out there. I was just trying to play the course like it was, like I did the last couple of days and I remember doing two years ago. ...

"I'm playing really well. The putter's nice and hot. And that's what you need when the greens get like this. Doesn't matter how good you play, you'll have four, five, six foot putts for par. Today I made them."

Laird, who was born in Glasgow, came to the United States in 2000 for the first time ever as a 17-year-old to play golf at Colorado State. "I liked the coach and I liked the sound of the state and the town wasn't too big," he recalled. "... I made a great decision. I loved it up there. We had a good golf team, and I got better every year."

Laird turned pro after graduating with a degree in marketing in 2004 and earned his Nationwide Tour card at q-school later that year. Granted, he lost it the following season, but finished among the top 25 on the money list in 2007 to earn his PGA TOUR card and has never looked back.

"I'm not a goal-setter," Laird said. "My goal is just to get better every year. ... I feel like I've done that. ... (I'm) getting more comfortable. Learning a lot more.

"My short game was what held me back in the past. Definitely this week it's probably the strongest point in my game. And that's the thing you learn quickly playing on the PGA TOUR. It's all about from 50, 60 yards in if you want to be the top of the leaderboards."

The soft-spoken Scotsman may not be on Colin Montgomerie's radar screen tomorrow as the European Ryder Cup captain ponders his three wild card selections. But Laird certainly has the attention of everyone at Ridgewood as the final round unfolds.

"I know what's at stake," Laird said. "I'm not going to pretend I don't. I'm playing well and I've got a lot of confidence. So hopefully I can keep it up."