Later in 2009, Laird won the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in a three-man playoff for his first PGA Tour win, securing his Tour card for 2010 and 2011. He took the first prize of $756,000 and jumped from 134th to 62nd on the money list. By winning that tournament he became the first Scot to win a PGA Tour event in America since Sandy Lyle won the 1988 Masters Tournament, and the first Scotsman to win any PGA Tour event since Paul Lawrie's 1999 Open Championship triumph. Laird became the highest ranked Scot in the Official World Golf Rankings, his ranking rising from 237 to 108. The victory also gave him qualification for his first WGC event, the 2009 WGC-HSBC Champions tournament, where he finished tied for 54th place.