Scottish Golf are seeking to exploit the new rules allowing access for top amateurs to Challenge Tour events with a new support package aimed at smoothing the transition to the professional game.
The governing body has joined forces with Edinburgh-based management company Bounce Sport who handle the affairs of Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher, among others to build a tailored competition programme for the nation’s top amateurs, who will gain access to at least four starts on the European Tour’s second circuit this season.
This follows new regulations allowing elite amateurs 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.
A number of the country’s female players will also benefit from starts on the Ladies’ European Tour and LET Access Series.
Under the new criteria, amateurs who play a minimum of four tournaments on the Challenge Tour 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.
Five Scots male players Walker Cup duo Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) and Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden), Drumoig’s Australian Amateur champion Connor Syme, South African Amateur winner Craig Ross (Kirkhill) and Glencruitten’s Robert MacIntyre, the Scottish Amateur champion will get four starts on the Challenge Tour this year.
Bounce Sport 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 sports science, coaching and physiotherapy.
Richie Ramsay, a two-time winner on the Challenge Tour and three times a European Tour winner, 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.”
Already this year two of Scotland’s top women players benefited by a similar arrangement on the women’s tours.
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.
Scottish Golf’s performance director Steve Paulding said it was vital more was done to support the amateur-to-pro transition.
“Bounce Sport has vast experience in this area so they are a great fit for us,” he said. “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 professional golfers.”