Laird and Lawrie for Scots Open

Lawrie won the Andalucia Open at the weekend

Scots golfers Martin Laird and Paul Lawrie have confirmed their participation in this year’s Barclays Scottish Open.

Lawrie won the Andalucia Open at the weekend, while Laird prevailed in the Arnold Palmer Invitational hours later.

Both have confirmed they will be among the field at Castle Stuart Golf Links in July.

The double-win was the first time that two Scots have triumphed in the same week on any Tour event.

Lawrie, the 1999 Open Champion, collected his sixth European Tour title while Laird collected his second success on the US PGA Tour.

Both players will take on the classic links course in the week before The Open at Royal St George’s.

“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.

“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.”

Lawrie is looking forward to hooking up up with his fellow-Scot, Laird, whom he first encountered some years ago.

“It will be great to see Martin at Castle Stuart,” said Lawrie. “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 when I head up there next month after hearing so many good reports about it.

Laird won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the weekend

“This is a huge deal for the Moray Firth area, having the Scottish Open on their doorstep, not just in economic terms but for the 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, is delighted to be returning to his homeland for the third successive year.

For the crowds arriving at the spectacular Moray Firth venue, it will be a rare opportunity to see the highest-ranked Scot in the world golf.

The 28-year-old, who moved within one place of a coveted spot in the top 20 on the world rankings following win in Florida, commented: “I am looking forward to getting back to my homeland to play in July.

“In a pre-round interview on Sunday, I was told that Paul Lawrie had won in Andalucia, so it was extra special to be able to play my part in such a great day for Scottish golf.

“I was extremely excited about my win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational – it doesn’t get much better than walking off of the 18th green to shake hands with Mr Palmer and to receive the trophy from him.

“I am pleased to be the first European ever to win at Bay Hill, which is an incredibly strong golf course, and against such a great field – it gives me even more confidence going in to The Masters next week.”

Already confirmed for the Scottish Open are three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, reigning Masters champion Phil Mickelson, the 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell and last year’s winner, Edoardo Molinari.