Murrayshall, the highly rated Country Estate and Golf Club a short drive from Perth, has been selected to stage a Faldo Elite Tour event in June this year featuring many of the world’s aspiring champions. The Perthshire course will offer the only Scottish challenge for the ambitious amateur players competing at eight prestigious venues chosen in other parts of Europe and the USA.
Part of the global Faldo Series for boys and girls, the Elite Tour provides a pathway for top ranked male players to become professional golfers and gain exemptions for the DP World and Challenge Tour in 2024. Notable Faldo Series Alumni include Major winners Rory McIlroy and Danny Willett, plus former Ladies Scottish Open champion Carly Booth.
“Bringing elite young amateur golfers to play in Scotland where I won my three Open Championships (Muirfield in 1987 & 1992 and St Andrews in 1990) was a must for me, because it provides challenges that any young golfer looking to become a top professional will need to take on and I’m sure that Murrayshall will prove one of the most interesting contests of the Elite Tour,” said Sir Nick Faldo.
On Friday 6th June the Murrayshall Championship course (6,100 yards par 72) will host an 18-hole
individual Stroke Play event featuring some of the most talented UK top ranked amateur players aged 25 and under, as they compete for coveted Faldo Elite Ranking points along with young men from across Europe and the USA.
“Being chosen as the Scottish venue to stage a Faldo Elite Tour event this year is a great honour for Murrayshall and we’re really looking forward to hosting the talented youngsters here,” said Golf Events Manager Emma Lester. “Murrayshall has a proud history of supporting junior golf and we’ll
also be hosting the SGU’s U16 Scottish Boys tournament next year as part of our drive to see more young players in Scotland progress in the game,” she added.
Other Faldo Elite Tour event venues this year include Spain’s El Prat golf club in Barcelona, plus challenging English courses at Heswall on the Wirral, Welwyn Garden City (Sir Nick’s former home course), Trentham in Stoke-on-Trent and Luton Hoo. Venues in Florida are set to host the penultimate Elite Tour event in December and the prestigious 54-hole Grand Final that offers double points in January to decide the eventual winner.
Formed in 1996, the annual Faldo Series is recognised as the leading global amateur golf series for juniors, creating access to the game through grass-roots initiatives at a wide range of tournaments across the world. Partners include the R&A and the Ladies European Tour. For the 2023 season, the Series comprises three different categories of competitive golf – the Faldo Futures for those aged 7-12; the Faldo Junior Tour for 12-18-year-olds; and the high-level Faldo Elite Tour for golfers aged under 25 in the UK, Europe and the USA.
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Murrayshall, which staged an Order of Merit event as part of the Tartan Tour last year, is set to host another Pro-Am event in September after a successful inaugural team event last year.
Recent improvements at the two Murrayshall parkland courses are part of a £30 million investment to upgrade and diversify its luxury Country Estate facilities. They include new bunkers with white sand to reflect a US-style across both courses; an enhanced drainage scheme to lengthen the playing
season; and rough being grown around the greens unlike other courses in the region. Development plans also include the opening of a new driving range, enlarged Pro Shop and a Golf Academy later this year
