Scottish amateurs set to benefit from
Challenge Tour opportunities
NEWS RELEASE FROM SCOTTISH GOLF
Scotland’s
leading male 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 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.
Bounce
Sport, who represent Stephen Gallacher among other clients, will manage
the players during the Challenge Tour events, working closely with
Scottish Golf’s performance team who will continue to oversee the
players’ preparation for
major events on the amateur calendar throughout the season, including
coaching, sports science and physiotherapy.
Richie
Ramsay, a two-time winner on the Challenge Tour, welcomed the support
and said: “I was fortunate to gain experience playing on the Challenge
Tour as an amateur and securing these starts will be of great benefit to
those players aiming
to turn pro.
“The
standard of golf is so high and the competition is fierce, so it will
allow the players to benchmark themselves and see exactly where they
need to be. It’s important that you feel comfortable playing at that
level, so the experience
they get as amateurs will stand them in good stead and undoubtedly help
that transition period.”
Earlier this season, Scottish Golf
National Women’s squad player Hannah McCook (Grantown-on-Spey) was given
the chance to compete in the World Ladies Championship in China on the
Ladies European Tour, while she and team-mate Gabrielle Macdonald
(Craigielaw) are being supported to the play in this week’s Terre
Blanche Ladies Open in France on the LET Access Series.
Steve
Paulding, Scottish Golf Performance Director, said: “It’s vital that we
do more to support the transition between leading amateur and Tour
professional for those men and women who have the potential to succeed.
We are therefore delighted
to announce this new support package which we can hopefully build on in
the future.
“Bounce
Sport has vast experience in this area so they are a great fit for us.
We have been working hard with them and other partners to allow us to
use Challenge Tour starts more strategically, which will give our
players exposure to a
high level of competition and help them assess their readiness to
compete as a professional golfer.”
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.”
Labels: CHALLENGE TOUR
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