Scotland’s leading amateur golfers will have the chance to gain valuable European Challenge Tour experience thanks to a new support package designed to smooth the transition of young players to the professional ranks.
Scottish Golf, the governing body for the amateur game, has joined forces with Edinburgh-based management company Bounce Sport to build a tailored competition programme for the nation’s top amateurs, who will receive at least four starts on the Challenge Tour this season, supporting those players who intend to turn professional at the end of 2016.
The move follows new regulations that allow amateur golfers to earn points on the Challenge Tour’s Road to Oman Order of Merit and potentially secure playing rights when they move into the paid ranks, while a number of the country’s female players will also benefit from starts on the Ladies European Tour and LET Access Series.
Walker Cup and European Amateur Team-winning duo Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) and Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) will compete in four Challenge Tour events this season, while Drumoig’s Australian Amateur champion Connor Syme, South African Amateur winner Craig Ross (Kirkhill) and Glencruitten’s Robert MacIntyre, the Scottish Amateur champion, will also be given starts.
Under the new Challenge Tour criteria, amateurs who play a minimum of four tournaments will be given a ranking from which they are entitled to earn a full category the following season, providing they turn professional in time to take up membership.
Iain Stoddart, Founding Partner of Bounce Sport, added: “We are delighted to take up what we see as a responsibility for these players as they transition from amateur to professional, and work with them as they look to climb the ladder in world golf.
“There are so many things to take care of in preparation for the day you walk out the front door for the first time as a professional golfer and we will use the time between now and then to work hard with Scottish Golf, and relevant partners, to ensure they are set up properly for that day and beyond.
“In the meantime, they can use the 2016 season and the Challenge Tour opportunities, at the very least, to begin to gain experience, understand and be exposed to the realities of becoming a touring professional.”
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