GRAEME STORM has almost certainly secured a spot in this month's Seve Trophy after claiming fifth place in the Johnnie Walker Championship.

Scotland's Marc Warren triumphed on home soil when he beat England's Simon Wakefield in a play-off for the title at Gleneagles, but Storm also had plenty to celebrate.

Having taken his European Tour earnings over the one million euros barrier for the season, he has cemented a high enough place in the rankings to earn a spot in Nick Faldo's Great Britain & Ireland team to face the Europeans.

The Hartlepool golfer now sits almost 300,000 euros ahead of Bradley Dredge in the Order of Merit, and it is Dredge who faces the biggest fight to retain his place for The Heritage showpiece, which starts on September 27.

Storm and Dredge should both claim one of the four qualifying berths from the European Tour rankings, while the other six places will be made up of four from the World Rankings and two captain's picks.

Nottinghamshire's Oliver Wilson, a good friend of Storm's from their Challenge Tour days, is the golfer in touch, although even he is a further 30,000 euros behind Dredge with just three tournaments left before heading to Ireland.

The prospect of Storm lining up in the Ryder Cup-style competition highlights the progress he has made this season.

His fine final round in Perthshire yesterday was another indication that he could well be mixing it for honours on the Tour for a few years to come.