Gleneagles door closes for Ryder Cup hopefuls

England’s Chris Paisley and Indian Gaganjeet Bhullar have been given the last two invitation spots to the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles this week.

The places had been left open in case Paul Casey, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald or Justin Rose changed their minds about not playing the last qualifying event for the Ryder Cup.

But instead 24-year-old Paisley, from Stocksfield, will make his European Tour debut and 22-year-old Bhullar will play in Britain for the first time since last year’s Open Championship.

The other invitees include Scot Sam Torrance, 57 tomorrow, who will increase his record number of appearances on the European Tour to 706 – 45 more than England’s Barry Lane.