Lawrie and Laird restored nation's pride says Bernard Gallacher

Lawrie and Laird restored nation's pride says Bernard Gallacher

FORMER Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher has heaped praise on Martin Laird and Paul Lawrie for putting some "pride" back into Scottish golf after pulling off their glorious double triumph on both sides of the Atlantic on Sunday.Laird's success in the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour has seen him jump 19 places to 21st in the world england boys golf news, with Lawrie leaping up to 150th after he returned to winning ways following a nine-year drought on the European Tour with victory in the Andalucia Open.The two successes came within a few hours of each other and were certainly a far cry from some of the low points witnessed in Scottish golf over the past decade, notably when only four players were flying the Saltire in the 2006 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool and none of them survived the cut.The absence of Scottish players in the last two European Ryder Cup teams has also been disappointing, but Gallacher, who captained the winning side at Oak Hill in 1995, is delighted to see the home of golf back in the news for positive events again thanks to the excellent efforts of his two compatriots"We can wear our kilts with pride again," he said. "It's not nice when you go to events like The Open or a Ryder Cup and hear people talking negatively about Scottish golf and, when there isn't a Scot in the European team at a Ryder Cup, that certainly drives it home."Laird, who has been based in America since he went to college in Colorado, looks a good bet to make the team for the 2012 match at Medinah and Gallacher believes that can also be a realistic target for 42-year-old Lawrie, who played at Brookline in 1999 Martin Laird Is First European to Win at Bay Hill Sets Sights on Augusta.