Players Championship: Brave bid makes Martin Laird third-top Scots earner of all time MARTIN Laird's brave bid to win golf's unofficial fifth major has not only propelled him up eight places to 31st in the world rankings, but also made him the third biggest money-earner in Scottish golf history. The 29-year-old finished in a four-way tie for second behind American Matt Kuchar in the Players" Championship at Sawgrass, where the Scot shared the lead with the eventual winner at one point on the back nine before posting the clubhouse target of 11-under after a closing 67. Laird, who failed with an eight-foot par putt after missing the green with his approach at the last as he eventually finished two shots behind Kuchar, picked up a cheque for £404,000, a tidy pay-day yet, due to the logjam behind Kuchar, slightly less than he earned when claiming second spot on his own in the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January. It took his season's earnings to £1.14 million - more than the figure with which Rory McIlroy is leading the Race to Dubai on the European Tour - and his career earnings on the PGA Tour to £5.5m, which is all the more impressive given that it is just over four years ago that the Nationwide Tour graduate made his debut on the main US circuit. That illustrates the huge pots of money up for grabs in the game's richest events, as does the fact only two of his compatriots, Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie, now sit above Laird in terms of career earnings from the Royal & Ancient game. Monty, third behind Lee Westwood and Ernie Els on the all-time European Tour money list, has raked in £19.6m, while Lawrie's recent rejuvenation has seen him boost his career cash haul to £8.1m. Glasgow-born Laird, who has now recorded three top 10s this season to bolster the two wins to his name on the PGA Tour in recent years, notably last season's Bay Hill Invitational, also picked up valuable Ryder Cup points at Sawgrass, where he was bidding to become the first Scot to win the event since Sandy Lyle back in 1987. He's up to 19th on the world points list, giving him a solid platform in his bid to earn a place on the European team at Medinah in September as he prepares for a debut appearance in next week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, closely followed by the US Open, with the Scottish Open and Open Championship now on the horizon for him as well. Six off the lead heading into the final round on Sunday, Laird was on course to pull off the biggest comeback in the history of the Players" Championship as he covered his opening 13 holes in six-under and, although he was pipped in the end for the second time in his career by Kuchar, who won a play-off involving the pair in The Barclays in 2010, he was understandably pleased with his performance. "That's one of best rounds I've ever played under the circumstances and the conditions," said Laird, who has recently moved from one side of the US - Scottsdale in Arizona - to the other - Charlotte in North Carolina. It was one of those days that I felt really comfortable out there. He's also playing with confidence again, admitting that more than anything had been responsible for a slight dip in form since he reached the quarter-finals of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona in February. "I've been looking for confidence the last couple of months," added Laird, who recently hired a new caddie in Australian Shay Knight. Just last week at Quail Hollow, I was talking to my coach about it but, for some reason, I found it this week. This is my best finish in a big marquee event and, if I can't take confidence in that, then I'm doing something wrong. He certainly won't be dwelling on that last-hole bogey or the four shots he dropped over the treacherous final three holes in his second round on Friday, when he had been out in front at ten-under-par and heading for the halfway lead. "If anything, I got a little comfortable out there and I got a little aggressive," he reflected on that 6-5-5 finish. My bogey at the 16th was the start of a domino effect and I've just got to look back and learn from that. I'm definitely going to take the positives from this week. I drove the ball great and putted great. My iron game was average, I'd say, and to be in contention at the Players" Championship when that's the case shows I'm in the right spot."