PAUL LAWRIE HAS LAUNCHED A NEW TARTAN PRO TOUR

Former Open Champion Paul Lawrie has launched a new development tour for Scottish professional golfers, both male and female.

The Tartan Pro Tour will be run by Lawrie’s 5-Star Sports Management & Events company. The aim for this year is to give professional golfers based in Scotland, whose seasons have been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic, something to play for.

There will be six events in 2020. They will run from August to September and will be hosted by some of Scotland's top golfing venues, including Carnoustie and Royal Dornoch.

Each event will be played over 36-holes, split across two days. They are open to both male and female professionals, with a maximum of 72 players and a prize fund of roughly £18,000 per event.

The first event will be played from 5-6 August over the Championship course at Carnoustie, the scene of Paul Lawrie's own Open triumph in 1999.

So far, ten LET professionals have signed-up for Carnoustie. They include the four Scots that played in last week's Justin Rose Series event: Kylie Henry, Kelsey MacDonald, Heather MacRae and Michele Thomson.

Paul Lawrie said:

“This period has been the strangest any of us have ever faced in our lifetimes and as professional sportspeople we are champing at the bit to get back competing. The Tartan Pro Tour has come about partly because COVID has obliterated our normal schedules."

"All of the Pros I’ve had contact with throughout these past twelve weeks have no certainty that they’ll get a chance to play again this season at all. I’ve been so impressed by the efforts of the European Tour to get the UK Swing of events to the stage it’s at but for so many Pros the remainder of the year looks unclear."

"For the players on the smaller circuits there’s little or nothing to set their sights on, sadly. And whilst there seem to be several smaller Tours popping-up around the M25 Corridor, it’s a long way for Pros from North of the Border to go without accommodation options and all the other considerations around air travel, etc.”

The Tartan Pro Tour schedule for 2020 is:

5th & 6th August
The Carnoustie Challenge (Championship Course)

8th & 9th August
Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Par 3 Championship (Devenick Course)

7th & 8th September
Royal Dornoch Masters (Championship Course)

10th & 11th September
The Pollok Open (Pollok Golf Club)

15th & 16th September
St Andrews Classic (Jubilee & New Courses)

23rd & 24th September
Rowallan Castle Championship (Rowallan Castle Golf Club)

The official sponsors for the Tartan Pro Tour are: Aberdeen Standard Investments, Blue Group, Cloudcube, Farmfoods, Gym Rental Company, Paul Lawrie Golf Centre and The R&A.