english trio set for medinah

By Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent

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Invitations to next week's US PGA championship - the final major of the year - have been sent to every member of the world's top 100.

And that means that England's John Bickerton, Simon Khan and Anthony Wall are among those who will be playing their first major in the United States.

The event starts on Thursday week at Medinah near Chicago, the course where Tiger Woods held off Sergio Garcia in a memorable duel for the same title seven years ago.

With 2004 Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer and Justin Rose - almost the forgotten man of British golf - being given places as well from their US Tour performances, there are no fewer than 34 Europeans in the field.

That, though, could come down to 33 as it remains to be seen whether Darren Clarke plays as he is taking time off to be with his seriously ill wife Heather.

Rose, who led the 2004 Masters at halfway, will be playing his first major since the PGA that year. He stands 99th on the US Tour money list and 127th on the world rankings - one place ahead of Langer - but has not had a top-10 finish since March.

The championship is the final counting event in the American Ryder Cup race and the third last in the European points battle.