Scotland set to stage its first Saudi Arabia-backed event and LIV players could be in field

Scotland is to stage its first golf event backed by Saudi Arabia after the Asian Tour announced it is to make history later this year in St Andrews.

Fairmont St Andrews, a venue on the DP World Tour for the past three years, is to stage the Asian Tour's first event in Scotland in 2023.

The circuit, which is heavily funded by Saudi Arabia through its Public Investment Fund, is hosting an event in Scotland for the first time this summer.

The inaugural St Andrews Bay Championship will take place over the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews on 24-27 August.

The event will be part of the Asian Tour’s International Series, which is a subsidiary of Greg Norman’s LIV Golf League.

It is being staged during a gap in the breakaway circuit’s schedule, meaning there’s a chance that some of the LIV Golf big guns could be teeing up in Fife.

Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka, for example, played in a similar event in Oman earlier in the year.

More recently, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson also played in the Asian Tour’s World City Championship in New York.

The Scottish event, which will come straight after the International Series England at Close House, will carry a $1.5 million prize fund and have a field of 156 players.

Cho Minn Thant, commissioner & CEO of the Asian Tour, said: “This is testament to the global vision of The International Series, and we are grateful to the dedicated team behind the scenes which has enabled the Asian Tour to grow from strength to strength over a short period of time.”

Fairmont St Andrews had been on the DP World Tour schedule for three years in a row, including a win for Grant Forrest in the Hero Open in 2022.

It is owned by Caleb Chan and Dr Peter Lam, both hailing from Hong Kong, and their decision to host the event comes off the back of Taichi Kho recently becoming the first Hong Kong player to win on the Asian Tour in the World City Championship.

Callum Nicoll, head of golf and estates at Fairmont St Andrews, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be making history as the first Scottish host for the Asian Tour.

“The elevated nature of The International Series with generous purses, strong international fields, and the reward of a place for the Series winner in next year’s LIV Golf League all makes for a very exciting tournament in the summer.”