Former European Tour player Alan Tait is attempting for a third time to establish an independent golf circuit in Scotland.
He has launched the Optical Express Tour, supported by double Open champion Padraig Harrington and 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie.
Tait, now the director of golf at the Marriott Dalmahoy, has enlisted the laser eye surgery experts to back a series of six two-day events in Scotland, open to both male and female professionals and to leading amateur players.
It’s the third time Tait and fellow professional Nigel Scott-Smith have attempted to get an “open” tour up and running, following on from last year’s Xltec Tour, another pay-to-play circuit which had initial success but completed only four of six planned events.
This time, however, Tait has the assurance of backing for six events in Scotland, starting in Stranraer on May 5 and culminating in an international final in December at the Son Gual resort in Mallorca for 24 qualifiers.
Each Scottish event has a guaranteed minimum prize fund of £8000, with a pot of £10,000 for the final event in Mallorca.
The event has the backing of Harrington, Lawrie and another former European Tour winner in Andrew Coltart as a potential key tool in the development of young Scottish players.
Lawrie said, “The whole ethos behind the Optical Express Pro Golf Tour is the continuing development of talented golfing professionals in Scotland.
“It can be a costly business travelling to similar events in England or Europe, and a lot of our golfing talent is unable to sustain this kind of expense.
“We need this tour to continue to produce world-class golfers by giving our home-grown golf professionals the opportunity to develop their competitive game in Scotland.”‘Stay driven’Coltart, a member of the European Tour since 1993, commented, “Golf can be difficult, especially if things are not going great, and it’s important to keep your focus.
“The addition of the Optical Express Pro Golf Tour to the Scottish golfing calendar will provide that added incentive to our golfers to stay driven and push them to get the most out of their game.”
The tour membership fee for professionals will be a one- off payment of £75, and a one-off payment of £25 for amateurs.
Professional entry fee for each event will be £115, of which £100 will go directly to the event prize fund, and £15 will cover all administration costs.The dates and locations of the 2011 Scottish rounds are: May 5-6, Stranraer GC; May 25-26, Hilton Park GC; July 20-21,The Westerwood, August 8-9,The Roxburghe, September 21-22, Letham Grange GC; October 3-4, Irvine (Bogside) GC.