Martin Laird joins Stephen Gallacher in World Cup

SCOTLAND will be represented in the World Cup by Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher, the same combination that played in China two years ago, when the event is held as part of a stroke-play tournament in Australia at the end of next month.

Top Scot: Martin Laird. Picture: Jane Barlow

Laird’s participation in Melbourne has been confirmed by his manager, Blake Smith, as the three-times PGA Tour winner prepares to start his Fall schedule in this week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.

“He will be there,” Smith told The Scotsman while also revealing the 30-year-old, who has been recharging his batteries since making an early exit from this year’s FedEx Cup Play-offs, is also travelling to Malaysia for next week’s CMIB Classic.

Laird and Gallacher tied for fourth behind the United States at Mission Hills, finishing just three shots adrift of Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland in a hotly-contested event. They will face even stiffer competition in their bid to emulate 2007 winners Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren as this year’s field will include Masters champion Adam Scott as well as three other former major winners in Angel Cabrera, Graeme McDowell and Vijay Singh.

The make-up of the 60-man field was based on the world rankings and, at the cut-off last month, Laird had just been joined by Gallacher as the top two Scots after the latter had jumped above Paul Lawrie.

It means a hectic end to the season for Gallacher as he is eligible for all four events in the European Tour’s new “Final Series” then will head straight from Dubai to Australia, where a total of $8m will be up for grabs.