I had been looking forward to going back to Las Vegas for some time as it was going to be my first experience returning as defending champion in the Justin Timberlake PGA Tour event. It is obviously somewhere I feel comfortable and a course that suits me after what happened there last year.
Did I think I was going to go there and compete for the title again? I knew it was possible but I hadn't really practised at all since the Alfred Dunhill Links a couple weeks before, and the couple of days that I had played the week before heading to Vegas I had been struggling quite badly.
It wasn't until my coach spotted something last Tuesday afternoon on the range that I even considered being in contention again. He noticed a small thing in my swing that I had probably developed from playing in the wind back home at the Dunhill Links, and as soon as I changed that my confidence came back instantly.
Martin Laird was beaten by a hole in one in the play-off at the Justin Timberlake PGA Tour event in Las Vegas. Photo: Getty
The one thing I like about the Vegas tournament is that you know the scores are going to be very low right from your first tee shot on the Thursday. You have to be aggressive and keep firing at flags all the way through to the last hole on Sunday.
That was especially the case this year, with the rain early in the week softening up the greens quite a bit, firm greens normally being the only defence that the course has.
I always play better when I play aggressively so it's a tournament where I really feel like I can let go and play my game and see how many birdies I can make.
The weather and course conditions in Las Vegas are also almost identical to where I live in Scottsdale, Arizona, so I don't feel like I need to adjust at all, which makes me very comfortable playing there.
It was a little weird when Jonathan Byrd made his seven-footer on the 72nd hole to make it a three-man play-off for the second straight year, with me right there again.
I did think back to last year and how it was me who had made an 11-footer on the 72nd hole to get in the play-off, and now he had made a great putt to claim a place.
I felt great this time and a lot calmer than last year as it was a completely different scenario for me.
I definitely took a lot of confidence from the fact that I had come out on top before in this identical situation and I really felt like it was going to happen again. I had played so good all week and hit the ball great on Sunday. I felt like I was in total control of my game. My putts on Sunday just hadn't dropped but I was hitting a lot of good ones and thought one would eventually go in for me.
I never imagined that it would take a shot that didn't even require a putter afterward to beat me. That is something that you can never prepare for, and when it happens you can only take your hat off and congratulate the guy.
Jonathan Byrd hit a great shot, one that will never be forgotten and probably will never be matched, to win the tournament.
It all seemed to happen so fast, one moment we were talking about whether to continue due to darkness and a minute later it was all over. I still don't think I have really realised completely what happened and the magnitude of someone making a hole in one to end a tournament!
Unfortunately that was the second play-off loss that I've had this year, which is not something normally to be happy about. But when I think of the two shots that it has taken to beat me in these play-offs then it's a pretty good sign for me. I thought Matt Kuchar's remarkable recovery at the Barclays to beat me was an unbelievable way to lose a tournament, but it didn't have anything on the one in Vegas!
I've had the best year of my career to date and I know that a large reason for that is my win last year in Las Vegas. Having a trophy in my house that proved that I can win on the PGA Tour was not only a huge confidence boost for me but it opened a lot of doors that have helped me get to where my game is at today.
I got to play in a lot of the bigger events throughout the year, including WGC events and Majors, gained valuable experience and learned a lot about my game. It also took away all the pressure of trying to keep my card for a couple of years and allowed me to just go out and play golf.
I've always said that my only goal is to improve every year and if I do that I will eventually get to where I want to be. Winning last year definitely helped speed up my improvement. I now really feel like I belong on the PGA Tour and have proved to myself that I can go as far in this game as I want to.
Breaking into the top 50 in the world is something that's definitely within reach for me now, and it is something that I'm excited to have the opportunity to do. It isn't a major goal for me; it's more something that shows me that my game is headed in the right direction and proves that I have had a good year.
Getting inside the top 50 and staying there is tough to do and that's something that I'll be working towards next season. If I can keep playing the way I have over the last few months it shouldn't be a problem and I can focus on climbing further in the world rankings.
I don't feel like I've reached the peak of my powers. I feel like I am just beginning to show what I can do on the golf course and there's a lot more to come from me. I have known for a while that if I improve my short game, especially my putting, that I can go as far as I want to.
That has been the major difference this year. Since I began working with my new putting coach my results have improved dramatically and I'm excited to see how far I can go now that my short game isn't holding me back.
I really feel like I can still improve a lot, become more consistent, and I'm looking forward to putting the work in to make that happen.
I'm as grounded as I was when I first got on tour. Some good results and a nice income from those achievements hasn't changed me at all. I think a lot of that has to do with my upbringing. If I did ever get a little carried away, I have plenty of friends and family that would have no problem in bringing me right back down to earth in a hurry, and that's what I love about them!
My aim for next year is the same as every other year, to get better! I want to get to the stage where I'm competing more consistently for tournaments and have my name in the mix in Majors.
That's the level that I want to get to; going into Major championships and other big events really feeling like I'm one of the contenders for the title.
It may take me more than a year to get to that level, but I definitely feel like I have that in me. If I just keeping plodding away and working hard, I really feel like there's no limit to where I can go.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/martinlaird/2010/10/breaking_into_the_world_top_50.html
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