King's Course to stage the top event on Tartan Tour

THE King's Course at Gleneagles is set to welcome back tournament golf after a break of more than a decade and it is hoped that the likes of Colin Montgomerie, Sam Torrance, Sandy Lyle and Martin Laird might be tempted by the prospect of playing there in this year's Scottish Championship.

Announcing yesterday that the Tartan Tour's flagship event will be moving from the PGA Centenary Course, venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup, to its sister course – it will also be held in October instead of June – Sandy Jones, the PGA's Chief Executive, set his sights on restoring the tournament to its former standing in the game.

"It will be the No.1 regional event in professional golf and that is the target I have set for Michael McDougall (the PGA's Scottish Region's newly-appointed secretary]," said Jones.

The 72-hole event, which has also been held over the Queen's Course since Gleneagles became its home in 1999, will take place on October 14-17 – the week immediately after the Dunhill Links Championship.

"We will be up against the Portugal Masters on the European Tour but the likes of Paul Lawrie and David Drysdale supported the event a couple of years ago and we will be sending invites out to all the top Scottish players," said McDougall, who has succeeded Gordon Dewar at the Scottish Region's headquarters at Gleneagles.

Jones, who is keen to see the Tartan Tour return to the sort of structure it had in the 1990s, added: "Sam Torrance is someone I'd like to talk to (about the Scottish Championship] as he is always an attraction in Scotland while Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie will be getting invites, too.

"So will Martin Laird, who I understand might be trying to play in the Dunhill Links and it would be fantastic if we could also see him in the Scottish Championship."

Due to the lack of daylight in the middle of October, the field will be restricted to 66 players - almost 100 less than last year - and Jones believes the King's Course will be a more suitable venue for the championship. "The PGA Centenary is really for the elite of tournament pros and the King's Course is probably more appropriate for our guys to play," he said.

Home of the Scottish Open from 1987 until 1994, the last big tournament to be played on the King's Course was the McDonald's WPGA Championship of Europe in 1999, won by Laura Davies.

In addition to hosting the Johnnie Walker Championship (August 26-29) this year, the PGA Centenary Course is also staging the Junior Ryder Cup (September 27-28).

"The staging of the Scottish Championship on the Kings' Course will be the perfect event to start the build up to the 2014 Ryder Cup," said Brendan Murphy, general manager of Gleneagles Hotel.