Seventeen Scots in field for Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews

One of the biggest Scottish representations in European Tour history has been teed up in this week’s Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews.

Stephen Gallacher, pictured receiving the trophy from Pawan Munjal of Hero after winning the 2019 Hero Indian Open at the DLF Golf & Country Club in New Delhi, speaeheads a strong home challenge on home soil in this week's Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

Seventeen Scots are in the field for the £1.7 million event, which starts on the Torrance Course on Thursday.

Scottish No 1 Bob MacIntyre is an absentee due to a clash with the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis.

But European Tour card holders Stephen Gallacher, David Law, Richie Ramsay, Scott Jamieson, David Drysdale, Grant Forrest, Marc Warren, Calum Hill and Connor Syme are all in the line up.

Joining them as the Fife course stages a main tour event for the second year running are eight other home contenders.

They are led by Craig Howie, a winner on the Challenge Tour this year, with Liam Johnston, Daniel Young and Euan Walker also taking a week off from the second-tier action to test themselves at the top level in the European game.

The event also marks a return to the European Tour stage for Chris Doak, who has secured an invitation along with Ryan Lumsden, a double winner this season on the Alps Tour.

Completing the Caledonian contingent are Paul O'Hara and Graham Fox, the two players to have secured national spots given to the PGA in Scotland.

In total, the home representation is one more than for the AXA Scottish Championship, won by Spaniard Adrian Otaegui, at the same venue last October.

One of the amateur spots, meanwhile, has been filled by Laird Shepherd, the St Andrews-based Englishman who won the Amateur Championship at Nairn in June.

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