2018 Tartan Tour announced

05/02/2018

Winner Pic

2017 M&H Logistics Scottish PGA Champion Chris Kelly

Four 36-hole events around the country augment the 'majors' on the 2018 Tartan Tour, which will provide more than 90 days of competition for PGA in Scotland members.

The two-day tournaments take place at Deer Park, Newmachar, West Linton and Musselburgh and are spread throughout the season, which offers lots of playing opportunities.

They include the M&H Logistics Scottish PGA Championship, which will bring the curtain down on the season for the third year in a row.

Won by Chris Kelly in 2017 for the third time, it is intended that the 72-hole tournament will be staged once again on the King's Course at Gleneagles.

The circuit's flagship event takes place a fortnight after the popular Highland Golf Links event at Castle Stuart, Nairn and Royal Dornoch.

The battle to be Tartan Tour No 1 gets underway with the Deer Park 36-Hole Challenge on May 21-22 before continuing at Nairn Dunbar on June 5-8 as it hosts the Northern Open for the first time since 1999.

Paul O'Hara's victory in that event at Moray last year helped him top the Order of Merit and the Motherwell man is likely to be one of the leading title contenders once again.

Also counting in the Order of Merit title race again will be the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open qualifier on July 7-8 at Longniddry, where four spots will be up for grabs in the event's second visit to Gullane.

Just after that event, Newmachar stages a 36-hole Order of Merit Challenge, with similar tournaments taking place at West Linton (August 14-15) and Musselburgh (September 4-5).

August sees two other Order of Merit events - the Deer Park Masters Pro-Am in Livingston on July 31-August 1 and the Kerr Investments Pro-Am at Dumfries & Galloway on 25-26.

Other notable events on the fixture list include the third staging of the Gleneagles International Pro-Am on July 24-27 and the Carnegie Invitational at Skibo Castle on September 11-12.

The schedule also contains around 20 one-day pro-ams, including a new one at Torrance Park in Lanarkshire and a testimonial event at Arbroath to mark Lindsay Ewart retiring after 39 years as the club's PGA professional.

For the ninth season in a row, the Scottish Young Professionals' Championship will be played at West Lothian on June 26-28, while a new Young Pros' Sprint Series is set to visit Duddingston, Linlithgow, Balbirnie Park and Trump Turnberry.

The Sandy Pipey Masters, which takes place at Royal Dornoch on September 22-24, will be another highlight of the campaign for the circuit's up-and-coming players.

PGA in Scotland secretary Shona Malcolm said: "The schedule aims to provide playing opportunities that meet the diverse needs of all categories of PGA members, and that reflect the changing demands of the golf industry.

"We are committed to developing a sustainable schedule that includes competitive events aimed at the Tartan Tour players, networking golf days like the winter and seniors fourballs and a Young Professionals’ calendar that helps trainees meet their playing requirements.

"Additional events and formats will continue to be developed during the year, while planning for 2019 is already well advanced and will include a number of exciting new events."

2018 Order of Merit events:

May 21-22 Deer Park 36-Hole Challenge

June 5-8 Northern Open, Nairn Dunbar

July 7-8 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open Qualifier, Longniddry

July 16-17 Newmachar 36-Hole Challenge

July 31-Aug 1 Deer Park Masters

Aug 14-15 West Linton 36-Hole Challenge

Aug 25-26 Kerr Investments Pro-Am, Dumfries & Galloway

Sept 4-5 Musselburgh 36-Hole Challenge

Oct 15-18 M&H Logistics Scottish PGA Championship, King's Course, Gleneagles

Other main events:

June 26-28 Scottish Young Professionals' Championship, West Lothian