Gleneagles delighted to host prestigious Stroke Play

Gleneagles will stage The Carrick Neill Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship for the first time next year.

Scottish Golf will bring one of the most prestigious amateur championships in the sport to the iconic King’s Course in 2018.

The event, which boasts a formidable winners’list since its inception in 1967, is regarded as the pinnacle men’s amateur stroke play championship in Scotland, contested over 72 holes.

With the five-star Perthshire estate staging the Solheim Cup in 2019, the Carrick Neill Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play adds to Gleneagles’ illustrious event history across the amateur and professional game.

Gary Silcock, director of golf at Gleneagles, who recently celebrated the resort winning a hat-trick of honours at the Scottish Golf Tourism Awards, said:“We want to showcase all three golf courses here at Gleneagles, as they are all equal in their own right.

“The King’s and Queen’s Courses have undergone a series of changes in recent times with the aim of enhancing the playing conditions and restoring James Braid’s original designs.

“We’re very proud of the work and look forward to hosting the Carrick Neill Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship on The King’s in 2018.

“The King’s and Queen’s are both 100 years’old in 2019 so it’s nice to have such a notable amateur event coming here ahead of that famous anniversary.

“It’s an international field and it will be interesting to see how they adapt to the course, perhaps like it was set up for the Bell’s Scottish Open during the heyday of tournament golf over the course in the 1980s and 1990s.”

The championship regularly attracts a stellar field from across the world, with players aiming to join an impressive list of past champions.

Victorious Ryder Cup captains Bernard Gallacher and Colin Montgomerie have lifted the trophy, as well as current European Tour stars Stephen Gallacher and Richie Ramsay.

Ryder Cup player Andrew Sullivan and fellow high-flying Englishman Tommy Fleetwood are also former winners of the event, with Fleetwood lifting the Johnnie Walker Championship on the neighbouring PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles in 2013.

Fraser Munro, head of events for Scottish Golf, said:“We are thrilled to be taking one of our premier events to such a fantastic and globally recognisable venue as Gleneagles.

“I am confident the draw of playing one of Scotland’s best inland courses will attract a world-class field.

“I am sure competitors will not only enjoy the superb facilities and hospitality Gleneagles has to offer but also the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of so many illustrious champions who have graced the fairways of The King’s Course.

“We thank the team at Gleneagles for agreeing to host the Carrick Neill Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play and look forward to working with them to ensure its successful delivery.”

The championship will take place over a new date from August 27-29 next year.