Scotland to stage three European Tour events in 2021 worth around $15 million

Scotland is set to stage three European Tour events in 2021 worth around $15 million as part of a bumper schedule featuring a minimum of 42 tournaments.
England's Aaron Rai, left, won the last staging of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open under its current contract but Aberdeen Standard Life chairman Sir Douglas Flint, right, was hopeful a new deal could be struck for the Rolex Series event and that has indeed been the case. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesEngland's Aaron Rai, left, won the last staging of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open under its current contract but Aberdeen Standard Life chairman Sir Douglas Flint, right, was hopeful a new deal could be struck for the Rolex Series event and that has indeed been the case. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
England's Aaron Rai, left, won the last staging of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open under its current contract but Aberdeen Standard Life chairman Sir Douglas Flint, right, was hopeful a new deal could be struck for the Rolex Series event and that has indeed been the case. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

The Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, which is returning to The Renaissance Club in East Lothian for the third year in a row, has retained the circuit’s most-coveted spot the week before The Open on 8-11 July.

It will once again be part of the Rolex Series, which is being reduced to just four events next year but with increased prize-money.

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The Scottish Open, as well as the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January and the BMW PGA Championship in September, will carry a prize pot of $8 million, with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in November also rising by $1 million to $9 million.

The Irish Open and Italian Open are no longer part of the Rolex Series but will carry prize funds of $3 million, while the Turkish Airlines Open has dropped off the schedule.

It is believed that Rolex, one of golf’s biggest supporters, are happy having quality rather than quantity, with four events fitting in nicely with the same number of majors and World Golf Championships.

To be included on that list is huge for the Scottish Open, with a new short-term deal between the event’s three partners - Aberdeen Standard Investments, the Scottish Government and the European Tour - appearing to have been struck after the last contract ended with the 2020 edition won by Englishman Aaron Rai.

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The circuit’s second visit of the year to the home of golf will be on 5-8 August for the Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews.

The Fife venue staged the inaugural AXA Scottish Championship in September as part of a revised schedule for the second half of the 2020 campaign.

Praise was heaped on both the condition and challenge provided by the Torrance Course as Spaniard Adrian Otaegui emerged victorious and it will now have Hero, the Indian motorcycle and scooter manufacturer and one of the circuit’s strongest supporters in recent years, as the title sponsor.

The Scottish Championship carried a prize fund of around £900,000, but that is set to increase for the Hero Open along with three other events on a UK Swing in July and August.

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They are the Wales Open, which takes place the week after The Open at Royal St George’s, an event still to be confirmed after that, with the English Open, the venue for which has not been revealed, coming after the Hero Open.

Earlier in the year, The Belfry, which was one of the venues for a new UK Swing this season, will stage the Betfred British Masters, with former Masters champion Danny Willett taking on the role as host on this occasion in mid-May.

The third and final Scottish leg on the new schedule is the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.

That was cancelled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the $5 million pro-am, which was won by Scottish-based Frenchman Victor Perez in 2019, has retained its traditional slot straight after the Ryder Cup in late September.

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The schedule also features 18 returning tournaments which were either postponed or cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, while two new additions are the Tenerife Open and Gran Canaria Open in April.

There is no place on the 2021 schedule for either the Austrian Open or Cyprus Showdown, won by Marc Warren and Bob MacIntyre respectively this year.

Also missing from the calendar, at least for the time being as a slot for a European event has been set aside for May 6-9, is the French Open, which was a Rolex Series event as recently as 2018 in the build up to the Ryder Cup on the same course at Le Golf National outside Paris.

Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said: “I am incredibly proud to announce our 2021 global schedule, one that once again sees us journey through continents and across the world.

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“With the pursuit of Ryder Cup points beginning again in January for our European members; qualification spots now available for our Rolex Series events; a sustained pursuit of innovation and a continued celebration of our wonderful heritage, it is understandable that our overarching narrative for this season is that: ‘Every Week Counts.’

“There is no question that the challenge of reshaping our 2020 season in many ways informed our approach to 2021. One of the key learnings was to group events together in terms of their geographical location to create a more travel friendly season for our members. That is reflected in numerous concentrations of event locations.

“Another was to continue to enhance our Rolex Series events at strategic points in the global golfing calendar when the European Tour will be the focal point of golf on the world stage. This is one of the many aspects we will continue to develop in our strategic aliance discussions with the PGA Tour, following our historic partnership announcement last month.

“Our events in the initial part of the 2021 season will continue to operate under the guidelines of our world-class Health Strategy, which will evolve aligned to the latest medical advice.”

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Paul Bush, Director of Events at VisitScotland, added: “I’m delighted to see the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open as part of the enhanced Rolex Series in 2021, confirming Scotland’s status as one of the world’s leading golf tourism and events destinations.

“We’re proud of our long-term partnership with the European Tour and Aberdeen Standard Investments and look forward to continuing to help grow the event, promoting Scotland the home of golf to even more people on a global stage.”

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