The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Amateurs King’s Course-bound:
Prestigious championship makes Gleneagles debut
The Carrick Neill Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship will break new ground next year when it is staged at Gleneagles for the first time.
Scottish Golf is “thrilled” at the prospect of taking 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.
The King’s Course, the former host of the Bell’s Scottish Open on the European Tour and a venue with a rich tradition of hosting amateur events dating back to the 1920s, is sure to provide a magnificent test when the field gathers for the championship over a new date from August 27 to 29 next year.
With the five-star Perthshire estate staging the Solheim Cup in 2019 – only five years after hosting The Ryder Cup – and the inaugural European Golf Team Championships in 2018, the Carrick Neill Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play adds to Glen eagles’ illustrious event history across the amateur and professional game.
Gleneagles’ Queen’s Course also staged the inaugural PING Scottish Mixed Championship for club members from across the country back in September, illustrating Scottish Golf’s continued work with one of the world’s leading golf resorts.
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.”
The championship regularly attracts a stellar field from across the world, with players aiming to join an impressive list of past champions including victorious Ryder Cup captains Bernard Gallacher and Colin Montgomerie, 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.
Next year’s field will be seeking to emulate home winner and now rookie professional Liam Johnston after his success at Western Gailes earlier this summer.
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 now 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 back 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.”