Martin Laird and Paul Lawrie to play at Castle Stuart

Published on Tuesday 29 March 2011 18:55

MARTIN Laird and Paul Lawrie have both confirmed they'll be playing in this year's Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, where the duo are guaranteed a warm welcome after their respective triumphs last weekend.

"It was certainly a great weekend for Scottish golf and I hope what Martin and I achieved will inspire a few other Scots to do the same," said Lawrie, who chalked up his sixth title as a European Tour player in winning the Andalucia Open.

"There has been a lot of comment about Scotland's lack of success in recent times but it wasn't from lack of effort. The European Tour, in my view, is the strongest in the world at the moment. Winning is never easy and especially right now with the high quality of players on the Tour."

The Aberdonian has yet to play at Castle Stuart but is looking forward to both the event itself on 7-10 July and also meeting up again with Laird, who completed a Scottish double on Sunday by winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

"It will be great to see Martin. I remember meeting him while my coach, Adam Hunter, was in charge of the Scottish amateur squad. He was a nice lad and a good player. I was impressed with him then and I was impressed with what he did on Sunday.

"It will be good to play Castle Stuart for the first time next month after hearing so many good reports about it. This is a huge deal for the Moray Firth area, having the Scottish Open on their doorstep, not just in economic terms but for juniors and schools in the area to see this level of golf close up."

Laird, who finished tenth in the Scottish Open in 2009 and tied 26th last year, said: "I am looking forward to getting back to my homeland to play in July."

Among those joining the pair at Castle Stuart will be Masters champion Phil Mickelson, US Open champion Graeme McDowell and three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, who will be making his first appearance in the event for more than a decade.