Paul Lawrie Match-play tournament will NOT 

be played at Murcar Links this year

By COLIN FARQUHARSON 
The future of the Paul Lawrie Saltire Energy match-play tournament - which made its debut on the European Tour at Murcar Links last summer - is in doubt.

Murcar Links Golf Club members received a letter today (Thursday) from the club, saying that the tournament would not be played at their course as planned later this year.

On the European Tour website's list of 2016 tournaments, the Paul Lawrie Saltire Energy match-play now has "to be confirmed" after its name instead of Murcar Links.

Whether this refers to a new venue or whether the tournament is going to be played at all is not clear.

Paul Lawrie referred queries on the subject to his management company who did not respond to an Email but, to be fair, one would not expect them to be in their office during a February evening.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand) beat Sweden's Robert Karlsson by one hole in the final when the tournament was played for the first time last year and Murcar Links was voted a great success as a venue.
The oil crisis is claiming more victims week by week. This could be the latest as sponsoring companies find they no longer have the funds to support sponsorship of players or tournaments.