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What makes the achievement all the more laudable is that the 26-year-old from Glasgow produced the best golf of his life in a week when his immediate career was on the line.

He was nine places outside the PGA Tour's all-important top 125 when he embarked on the (fine artist, laudable cause and I'm sure Shriners are very nice people - but let's be honest, a dismal tournament title).

But is no stranger to such circumstances and delivering the goods when necessary. In his rookie year in 2008 he scrambled into the top 125 in the last week of the season to retain his playing privileges.

It was a year in which he'd had two top-four finishes and a share of seventh, and it was a highly commendable debut campaign that might have been wasted without a strong finish.

"I didn't realise it would be quite so hard to finish top 125 on the money list," Laird admitted when we spoke earlier this year.

The top 125 isn't a concern now, for a while anyway, because this victory - the first by a Scot on the PGA Tour since - has earned Laird a two-year exemption and elevates him from 134th to 62nd on the .

>Laird received his trophy from tournament host Justin Timberlake

He is a graduate of , where he won four collegiate titles. Preferring to stay in America rather than to head back to Europe at the start of his pro career, he blossomed on the in 2007 to earn his full Tour card.

"America is where I live," says the Arizona-based player. "But Scotland will always be my home."

Laird played on home soil for the first time as a professional at the at Loch Lomond in July and justified his invitation with an opening 65 en route to finishing in a share of eighth place.

This Las Vegas win would have taken him to sixth place in the , but he's not eligible for Colin Montgomerie's team because he's not a member of the European Tour.

Laird, though, has already managed to do something Monty has never achieved by winning on the PGA Tour. "A fantastic win, I'm delighted for him," Montgomerie said.

Now it will be interesting to see whether Laird uses the breathing space this win gives him in America as a vehicle towards European membership. But it is more likely he will continue to ply his trade Stateside and try to climb from his current into the top 50 which opens the door to a global schedule.

He has every reason for confidence after securing the £463,000 first prize in Las Vegas. He is a likeable and grounded player who has now proved he has the game to succeed in golf's toughest back yard.

We have known possesses those attributes by the bucket-load, but that winning touch had deserted the Englishman until his fine on Sunday.

Naturally, he believes he has jettisoned a very annoying monkey from his back having seen winning chance after winning chance slip from his grasp in the last couple of years.

How rewarding his pitch to tap-in range on the 17th must have felt because it was ultimately the part of his game perceived to be his greatest weakness that gave him his victory.

Players often feel that one win will lead to more frequent visits to the winner's enclosure. Some do in hope, others in expectation and Westwood is entitled to anticipate more trophies and in more prestigious events.

The big money tournaments in Spain, China and that provide the climax to the European season provide a perfect opportunity. It will also be fascinating to see how responds to being knocked from the top of the standings.

So there is much to look forward to in the next month and beyond - especially for Westwood and, of course, Laird.

Ramsay was right to tell us not to be too despondent about the Scottish game and Laird has proved the point.

Roll it all under a UK umbrella where Westwood and McIlroy also reside, along with plenty more home talent, and it is easy to see why we should view the future with huge optimism.