Paul’s tour of duty
Lawrie’s Tartan events will help our young stars fill void left by cancellations
PAUL LAWRIE says he wants to stop top young prospects like his son being lost to golf as he prepares to launch a new Tour.
The 1999 Open champion has revealed the Tartan Pro Tour will get under way at the start of next month, with six events to take place across Scotland.
The European Tour and its feeder circuit, the Challenge Tour, return next week in Austria before a UK swing begins with the British Masters on July 22.
But the third-tier PGA EuroPro Tour many up-andcoming players are on – and whose graduates include Scott Jamieson – decided in March to cancel its 2020 season.
Now Lawrie has stepped in to fill the void with 36-hole events at the likes of Carnoustie and St Andrews that will be open to male and female pros with maximum fields of 72.
He said: “The Tartan Pro Tour has come about partly because Covid-19 has obliterated our normal schedules. All of the pros I’ve had contact with have no certainty that they’ll get a chance to play again this season by JIM BLACK 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 of the pros, the remainder of the year looks unclear. For the players on the smaller circuits, there’s little or nothing for them to set their sights on sadly.
“There is no place for guys like my son Craig to go until next March and there are 25-30 Scots on the EuroPro alone.
“They are excited that it’s a lifeline for a pile of them, male and female.”
Besides prize money in the region of £20,000 per event, there is the incentive of Challenge Tour invitations for the highestplaced on the order of merit.
It will start at Carnoustie on August 5 then head to the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre later that week. Royal Dornoch, Pollok Golf Club, St Andrews’ Jubilee and New courses, and Rowallan Castle will follow in September.
Lawrie’s Five Star Sports Management & Events outfit will run it with various sponsors.
He said the initiative has the backing of European Tour chief Keith Pelley and would not go up against rival events.
The eight-time European Tour winner said: “We want PGA members to play and it makes no sense for anyone to compete against another tour.”
Depending on its success, Lawrie hopes to roll out an extended schedule next year.
Meanwhile, Russell Knox set about making a first cut in eight PGA Tour events, opening with a two-under 70 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.
Ryder Cup winner Thorbjorn Olesen has had his European Tour suspension lifted pending the outcome of the criminal case against him.
The Dane was arrested and charged with sexual assault, being drunk on a plane and assault by beating after an alleged incident on a flight from Nashville to London on July 29 last year.
The 30-year-old pleaded not guilty to all charges in December but with his court date pushed back to December 2021 due to the coronavirus, his suspension has been lifted.