Golf: Two top players sign up for Open

British Open winner Paul Lawrie and world top-50 player Joakim Haeggman are the latest European golf stars to be confirmed for next month's New Zealand Open.

Lawrie, the 1999 Open champion, and Swede Haeggman, the world No 49 at the end of last year, will contest the event at Gulf Harbour from February 10-13.

The pair will compete in next week's Heineken Classic in Melbourne.

"It is definitely shaping up as the strongest field ever for the New Zealand Open," tournament director Phil Aickin said.

Lawrie, 36, is the second major winner in the field, with 1990 US PGA champion Wayne Grady. The Scottish player won the 128th British Open at Carnoustie in 1999 when he came from 10 shots behind with a final-round 67 to grab a place in a three-way playoff with Frenchman Jean Van de Velde and the 1997 Open champion Justin Leonard.

Lawrie, who comes from nearby Aberdeen, birdied the final two holes of a four-hole playoff to win.

Haeggman started last year on a medical exemption after missing seven months in 2003 with a broken ankle sustained playing ice hockey.

The highlight was a win in the Qatar Masters last year on the way to 18th spot on the European Tour rankings that included third placings in the TPC of Europe and Volvo PGA.

The final 65 players from the European Tour will be confirmed this weekend, following the naming of the 65 from the Australasian Tour last weekend.

Paul McGinley and David Howell have withdrawn from the Heineken Classic in Melbourne next week and the New Zealand Open.

McGinley is injured and Howell played in South Africa.