They set off down similar routes in their quests to reach the US PGA Tour.
Today, Martin Laird and Russell Knox's paths will finally cross on the main circuit when the Scottish duo both compete in the Humana Challenge in California.
Back in 2007, Glasgow exile Laird claimed his maiden victory on the second-tier Nationwide Tour which helped earn him promotion to the top table.
That same year, Knox, a son of Inverness, took the professional plunge after graduating from Jacksonville University. Four years later, the 26-year-old also plundered a title on the Nationwide circuit and secured a remarkable rise into the upper echelons at the end of the 2011 season.
While Laird, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, will resume his determined assault on the Ryder Cup world points standings this week, having teed-off the campaign with a runners-up placing in Hawaii a fortnight ago, new recruit Knox will be looking to bounce back from a missed cut on his debut in last weekend's Sony Open. The chance to fly a Saltire alongside his fellow Scot is an opportunity that Knox is eager to take advantage of. "Martin is definitely an inspiration to me," he said. "I've only met him once, but I'm looking forward to getting to know him better."
Laird, one of the favourites this week in a field that also includes Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, is now an established force on the US circuit and he offered words of experience to his countryman about the battles ahead.
"It's exciting to have another Scot on tour," he said. "It can be a bit intimidating coming out here for the first time. You get so excited with all the things that come with tournaments you almost forget about the golf. A lot of players struggle at first but it's not something to beat yourself up about."
Elsewhere, Paul Lawrie and Colin Montgomerie make their first starts of 2012 in the limited-field Volvo Golf Champions' event in South Africa. The Scots pair form part of a 35-man, no-cut shoot-out which also includes Darren Clarke. With a fondness for Guinness and cigarettes, the Open champion has never been a fitness freak. This is a new year, however, and resolutions have clearly been made.
"I just thought 'enough is enough' and it was time to get into better shape," he said. "My alcohol consumption is down to zero. But, no pain, no gain and I'm excited about the route I'm taking."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article