15 Scots teeing up in Nexo Championship at Trump International in Aberdeen

Laird, who has been based in the US throughout his professional career after staying on at the end of his college campaign, last played on home soil in the 2018 Scottish Open, which was sponsored by Aberdeen Standard Investments at the time.

But the 42-year-old has teed up an exciting return in a fortnight’s time after deciding to commit to the upcoming $2.75 million event in Aberdeenshire ahead of the entries closing on Friday morning.

Laird will be playing through the category introduced through the Strategic Alliance between the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, which offers spots for a maximum of five players who finished in positions 126-200 on the FedEX Cup Standings the previous year.

Laird, who has played more than 400 events on the PGA Tour and has amassed career earnings of close to $23 million, ended up 147th to lose his full playing privileges and has been mainly playing this year on the Korn Ferry Tour.

The Glaswegian, who finished just outside the top ten in the recent Barracuda Championship in California, will be flying the Saltire at Trump International Golf Links, which is staging a DP World Tour event for the first time, as part of a strong Caledonian contingent.

Connor Syme and Calum Hill, winners of the KLM Open and Joburg Open respectively this year, will spearhead the home challenge along with three-time DP World Tour winner Ewen Ferguson.

Grant Forrest, who finished as the leading home player in the Genesis Scottish Open just under a fortnight ago, will be aiming to build on that encouraging effort while Richie Ramsay, who will be teeing up in his home city, and Scott Jamieson are also in the line up.

David Law, another Aberdonian and a recent winner on the HotelPlanner Tour, is teeing up as well, as are Daniel Young and Euan Walker, who are also making strong bids to secure step ups to the DP World Tour at the end of the season.

Three-time DP World Tour winner Marc Warren, Rory Franssen, a two-time winner on this season’s Tartan Pro Tour, and Ryan Lumsden have all secured a sponsor’s invitation.

Also in the field are Paul O’Hara and Graeme Robertson, the pair having been handed the two national spots through topping the Arnold Clark PGA in Scotland Tartan Tour and Tartan Pro Tour points lists respectively last season.

In addition to the posse of home players, fans heading to the event will get to see the new crop of winners on the DP World Tour this season, including Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, Frenchman Martin Couvra and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan.

Others teeing up include English stars Dan Brown, Jordan Smith, Richard Mansell and Marco Penge, who won the Scottish Stroke-Play Championship at Moray Golf Club in Lossiemouth as an amateur in 2015.

The event is part of a double-header at Trump International Golf Links, where the Stasysure PGA Senior Championship also takes place next week and is set to feature Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie and Stephen Gallacher.

Fans who buy a ticket for either the Nexo Championship or Staysure PGA Senior Championship can receive a 25 per cent discount for a ticket to the other event. General admission tickets can be purchased here