Tiger releases statement amid nationwide unrest

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LAS VEGAS - They say luck's a fortune in Las Vegas but skill can certainly get you further. Martin Laird showcased a brilliant combination of both as he claimed his second Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, outlasting Matthew Wolff and Austin Cook in a playoff at TPC Summerlin. RELATED: Full leaderboard | What’s in Laird’s bag? Playing on a sponsor's exemption as he returns from knee surgery, the Scotsman earned his fourth PGA TOUR win by getting the ultimate redemption on a hole that perhaps owed him some luck. It was his first title in over seven years. Chasing back-to-back wins after winning in 2009 (ironically in a three-man playoff), Laird joined Cameron Percy and Jonathan Byrd in extra holes in 2010. When they reached the par-3 17th he had to just stand in disbelief when Byrd made a hole-in-one to win the tournament. A decade later he would face the hole in sudden death against two others again. This time there was no ace but Laird did send a 22-foot, 11-inch birdie putt home after the other two players had missed their own chances to claim the win. "When I sit back and think about it, this win might go right to the top just because it’s been a while," Laird said. "I had a bunch of life changes since my last win. Now I’ve got a couple kids who kept asking me when I was going to win the trophy. It’s going to be nice to take a trophy home for them this time." "I’m unbelievably excited to have pulled that off today... you have some doubts at times whether you’re going to get another one. I just played so well all week this week tee to green; was probably the best I ever played. Just felt in control really all week. To see that putt go in on that hole, it was pretty special." His winning putt wasn't the only drama he faced on the infamous hole on Sunday. He came to it in regulation with a one shot lead but flailed his tee shot on the breeze and it went miles right onto a hill normally reserved for spectators. It left a tricky pitch from a downslope, over a cart path, through trees with water behind the green. The 37-year-old pulled off a magnificent shot to find the putting surface and then buried a 17-foot, 11-inch par putt. It was the longest putt he made all day Sunday (in regulation) and provided a buffer he needed when he was unable to get up and down on the 72nd hole for the win and was sent to extras. "That hole owed me one," Laird admitted. "To make that putt on 17 honestly was huge in regulation, and then to roll that putt in there to close it out, I mean, obviously it’s pretty special." Unbelievably it might not have been his best shot of the day. Earlier Laird was looking to push his early advantage on the par-5 9th hole, going for the green in two. His ball sailed on a great line only to come up fractions short, cannoning into the upper lip of a bunker where it stayed, seemingly buried and dead. But with an awkward stance and the putrid lie to deal with Laird would not only extricate the ball exceptionally, he would hole out the shot for an eagle. It was the third straight day he'd eagled the hole. "That second shot... if it flies another foot it’s an unbelievable 3-wood. It was a really bad break but it was almost lying so badly that I said to my buddy, this is lying so badly if I hit this as hard as I want it’s not going to go very far," Laird explained. "Obviously I wasn’t planning on holing it... but I was hopeful of getting inside maybe ten feet if it came out pretty good. I hit it hard as I could. The sand exploded and I couldn’t see anything, and I managed to open my eyes up as the ball landed and it started tracking. I enjoyed being down to the level of the bunker and watching that one go in. I’m not going to lie." Laird joins Jim Furyk and Kevin Na as multiple time winners of the event and won't need sponsor invites for a while having secured full status and a further two seasons after this one. He moved to fourth in the FedExCup with the win. Wolff has now finished runner up in his last two starts, falling to Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open before this week. "Game is at an all-time high. I have a lot of the confidence carrying into the next two weeks and then the Masters, so looking forward to what’s next," the 21-year-old young star said. "My game has progressed amazingly and at pace that if you would’ve told me I would’ve been pretty amazed by it. I’m just looking to maybe get a win soon... I’m feeling like I can go out there and win any week now. Maybe a win is due sometime soon. But if I just keep on doing this, I’m sure it’ll come."

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DUBLIN, Ohio – A year ago Adam Scott was humbled in Ohio. His game had slipped and was at a crossroads. Would he find another gear to get back amongst the contenders on the PGA TOUR or would the 13-time winner fade away into some form of obscurity? While Scott has not added to his win tally in the last 12 months – a resume that includes victories at The PLAYERS Championship and the Masters – he has significantly lifted his game. That trend continued Friday when a 6-under 66 moved Scott to 7 under at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide through two rounds, just two back of the clubhouse lead after the morning wave. A year ago the Australian had slipped far enough down the world rankings that his play at Muirfield Village would be the determining factor in whether he would play his 17th consecutive U.S. Open and 68th straight major championship. Going into Sunday he was sitting well placed at T11 but shot 73 in the final round to tumble to T35. It meant he would have to front up to 36-hole sectional qualifying the following day if he was to keep his streak alive. Frustrated and annoyed Scott had contemplated not bothering. He had just one top-10 to that point in 14 starts on the season and was on the end of playing five straight weeks. But after some anger subsided, pride kicked in, and he decided to have a crack at getting to Shinnecock. Related: Tee times | Watch PGA TOUR LIVE | Down a rib, Merritt makes his move “It was definitely pride. I wanted to be at the U.S. Open. Unsatisfied just mailing it in and sitting on the couch when I could have been given a start,â€� Scott said. “It wasn’t like I was just playing horrible, but I just really couldn’t get anything to go my way. If I did something good, the other part of my game was ordinary. And I guess that had gone on for a while. And it takes its toll on the brain.â€� Scott’s performance at the sectional was impressive. He rushed out of the blocks with a 6-under 66 at the tougher Brookside Golf & Country Club and then held on with an even par 72 at the Lakes Golf and Country Club to be one of 14 qualifiers. He missed the cut at Shinnecock but soon after fueled with confidence again, he finished T17 at the Open Championship and then contended with Brooks Koepka down the stretch before settling for third place at the PGA Championship. Scott tacked on a T5 to open the FedExCup Playoffs and although he fell short of the TOUR Championship the uptick in form continued into the 2018-19 season. He was runner up at the Farmers Insurance Open and also contended at the Genesis Open (T7), the PLAYERS (T12), Masters (T18) and PGA Championship (T8) to sit 36th in the FedExCup heading into this week. And Muirfield Village is a place Scott believes he should have conquered. In his 11 previous appearances he has three top-5 finishes. “It really sets up well for me, and I feel like I’ve played a lot of good golf here over the years, just never four days in a row. It’s just never been quite enough,â€� he said. “But I’ve shot some of my really great rounds of my career here. I remember 62 in ’06 that was such a good round of golf on a very, very difficult golf course that day.â€� The question now becomes can Scott still close out over the weekend. His last win came in 2016. The return to form has been promising, but can he take it up a notch? A year ago he was just trying to get a top-10. Now he wants trophies again. “I did a really good job of it at the PGA, just getting out of my own way on the weekend, and I played really well and I hung in there right to the end,â€� Scott claimed. “It’s funny, and so quickly then the expectation changes and it’s now you need to win tournaments. And it just hasn’t happened. “It’s just about kind of doing what I did at that PGA and staying out of my own way and not really thinking about outcomes and all that cliché mental stuff and just play with a bit of confidence and a bit of fun.â€� Oh and that major streak? It will hit 73 at Pebble Beach in June at the U.S. Open. This time he’s already exempt.

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