The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Scottish Senior Open
Archerfield Links, North Berwick, August 27-29
It may not draw the crowds of St Andrews’ 2015 double-header – the Open Championship at the Old Course in July, or the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October.
But East Lothian, known as “Scotland’s golf coast”, will be putting its golfing credentials – and its own doubleheader – to the fore next week, when it stages the Scottish Senior Open just weeks after staging the Scottish Open.
It was announced in March that the Scottish Senior Open will be played at Archerfield Links, North Berwick, for the first time from August 27-29.
With a prize fund of £250,000, the tournament will have a field of 60 European Senior Tour professionals, who will play alongside an amateur partner for the first two rounds, before the professionals-only contest the final round on Saturday August 29.
The announcement of an two-year deal, which has the option of a two-year extension, was struck between Archerfield Links and the European Senior Tour, with the pair sharing a vision to create an over-fifties equivalent of the long-running Dunhill Links.
Tom Younger, chief executive of Archerfield Links, said: “We are delighted to be working with the European Senior Tour, East Lothian Council and VisitScotland on staging this championship here at Archerfield Links.
“It truly is an honour for us to host this event, especially when you look at some of the previous winners, and it will be really wonderful to see some of these great champions back in action on Scotland’s golf coast at Archerfield.”
As was the case with the Ladies Scottish Open, when it was staged at the Dirleton venue for five years from 2010, the tournament will be played on the Fidra Links. It and the neighbouring Dirleton Links were both designed by DJ Russell, who is the Senior Tour’s committee chairman.
Since being launched in 1993 at Royal Aberdeen, the Scottish Senior Open has visited Newmachar, Marriott Dalmahoy, The Roxburghe, near Kelso, and, most recently, Fairmont St Andrews, where it was staged for the last six years.
Winners include Tommy Horton, Brian Huggett, Neil Coles and Sam Torrance, while Englishman Mark Davis claimed his maiden Senior Tour title at Fairmont St Andrews last year.
It means the area will have hosted two national Opens in the space of eight weeks, with Gullane staging the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open for the first time in July, the week before the Open was staged at St Andrews.
And following on from the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles last year, it’s more music to the ears of Scotland’s tourism chiefs.