Royal Aberdeen to stage Scottish Senior Open with Paul Lawrie as host

Royal Aberdeen is to stage the Scottish Senior Open in September, when the Legends Tour event will be hosted for the first time by Paul Lawrie.

Royal Aberdeen will stage the Scottish Senior Open hosted by Paul Lawrie on the Legends Tour in September. Picture: Legends Tour

The announcement marks the return of the Legends Tour, formerly the European Senior Tour, for the first time in 26 years.

The Balgownie Links hosted the first three editions of the Scottish Senior Open from 1993-1995 before staging the Senior Open in 2005.

More recently, it was the venue for the 2011 Walker Cup and the 2014 Scottish Open, which was won by Justin Rose.

Lawrie, who is an honorary member of Royal Aberdeen, will be the defending champion on 10-12 September after claiming his breakthrough Legends Tour title at Craigielaw in 2019.

“I am incredibly excited to be given the opportunity to host the Scottish Senior Open at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, which is such a wonderful venue,” said the 1999 Open champion.

“It is a truly stunning golf course and, being a local lad, it is a venue close to my heart and I cannot wait to welcome my fellow Legends Tour players to Aberdeenshire in September.

“I am looking forward to working closely with Keith Grant and his team at Royal Aberdeen, as well as Mark Aspland and the Legends Tour, to deliver the best event possible and help to show off our region.”

Richard Noble, captain of Royal Aberdeen, said he was “delighted” with the news and is hopeful that fans will be able to attend the event.

Also welcoming the announcement, Paul Bush, director of events at VisitScotland, said: “It’s exciting to see the Scottish Senior Open heading to such an iconic venue.

“The Scottish Senior Open has long been an important part of Scotland’s world-class golf event portfolio and it is great to see it return this year.

“We look forward to working with colleagues at the Legends Tour to support them in delivering the best possible event this September.”

Paul McGinley, the winning 2014 Ryder Cup captain, is also set to host an event on the 2021 Legends Tour schedule in Ireland.

The Irish Legends presented by the McGinley Foundation will take place at Rosapenna on 20-22 August.

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