Douglas Lowe on Tuesday: Lloyd Saltman and Martin Laird might have been continents apart, but the gutsy putts they holed at the weekend with their careers on the line gave not just themselves but Scottish golf a huge lift.

Lloyd Saltman and Martin Laird might have been continents apart, but the gutsy putts they holed at the weekend with their careers on the line gave not just themselves but Scottish golf a huge lift.

For Saltman it was a 10-foot birdie putt in a sudden-death play-off among seven players at the Sherry Golf course in Spain to claim the last place into the European Tour qualifying school finals at PGA Catalunya that start on Thursday.

For Laird it was an eight-foot putt at the Magnolia course at the Disney resort in Florida to claim 125th place on the PGA Tour in his rookie year and keep his card with nothing to spare for 2009 after a season full of highs and lows.

Ability and commitment are two factors that both young players clearly possess but, as they discovered, you also need the little breaks going your way and you suspect that in hindsight these putts are likely to grow in importance.

Laird is the first Scot to be playing regularly on the PGA Tour since Sandy Lyle two decades ago and, while he has actually yet to play professional golf in his native land, the fact that he is out there making a career on the richest golf circuit in the world is a psychological boost at a time when it is badly needed, with not a single Scot listed in the world's top 100.

"What a fantastic time he is having out there," remarked Saltman yesterday, during a flying visit home. "Martin is putting down a mark in America and now there are a few of us at the final qualifying stage for Europe and hopefully we can get Scottish golf back up there."

Laird was never a high-flying amateur. He did win a Scottish youths title at Letham Grange which put him on the radar of the then 17-year-old Saltman, who was fourth, and his progress in the US is being watched with interest.

The exiled Scot showed what he was capable of when he made the stellar fields in the autumn for the first three tournaments in the four-event FedEx Cup play-off series. Since then it has been more of a grind and it has taken official winnings of just over £850,000 to make it over the line. That kind of earning on the European Tour would have given him a listing on the order of merit at No.43.

In his formative years as junior captain at Hilton Park, Laird made the journey up to Loch Lomond to watch the Scottish Open and it has always been a dream of his to play in that event.

When he sits down to discuss his 2009 itinerary with his Hambric Stellar management that, co-incidentally, he shares with Lyle, his priority again will be the PGA Tour. But if he can qualify for the Open at Turnberry next year, the week after the Scottish Open, then a dream visit to Loch Lomond - and he would surely merit an invitation - would be on the cards.

After his Disney ordeal that lasted a full 90 minutes from the moment he holed out because Tommy Gainey would have pushed him out of the top 125 if he had finished ahead of winner Davis Love and not second, Laird treated himself with a first-class seat on the flight back to Arizona. "I will be taking advantage of the free drinks," he assured.

There was no such time to relax for Saltman. After arriving home on Sunday night, he was back off to Spain again yesterday morning for two days of practice before the six-round ordeal that ultimately will yield 30 full tickets to tour from around 150 starters, 12 of them Scots.

Like Laird's pioneering campaigns in the US, it would be a great fillip for Scottish golf if Saltman was to get his card. He showed his capability when winning the silver medal for top amateur in the Open Championship at St Andrews just over three years ago when he was joint-15th.

He was twice a Walker Cup player and, with that kind of background as a prominent Scottish amateur, he needs to be there playing at the top level in Europe to encourage the players coming up behind and show them it can be done.

He is languishing at No.94 on the Challenge Tour after 11 starts. It is a ranking that will give him a schedule in 2009 of more than 20 tournaments, which is an improvement on this year. It would have been his fallback if that putt had failed to drop, but his sights are set on greater things. "You need little things like that to happen for you," he said. "I have been playing well, but it just hadn't been happening for me and I will be going into this week with a bit of confidence. I know I have the Challenge Tour if need be, but the European Tour is what I am aiming for."

He will be joined at PGA Catalunya by qualifying school first-timers Callum Macaulay, who helped Scotland to victory in the Eisenhower Trophy, and Scott Henry, the former Scottish open strokeplay champion.

It all adds up to a fascinating week as our up-and-coming hopefuls bid to gain a foothold on the tournament professional ladder, and the tails are up.