No decision on future venue until after this year's Scottish Open
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"Staging the event on a links course encourages a better field and to have some preparation on this type of course the week before The Open is what everyone is looking for."
"The Scottish Open is one of the favoured tournaments on The European Tour and I can’t wait to get back there," he said.
Fittingly, it was the number one golfer in the world — England’s Luke Donald — that walked away with the 2011 trophy at the end of the week and he has already confirmed that he will return this year to defend his title.
The Inverness venue — co-designed by managing partner Mark Parsinen and golf course architect Gil Hanse — debuted at number 56 in Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Courses in the World and received universal praise last July for the test it provided the world’s best golfers.
Last year, Castle Stuart, which has now opened its doors again for the new golfing season, became the seventh Scottish course to host the tournament since 1972 following in the footsteps of Downfield, St Andrews, Haggs Castle, Gleneagles, Carnoustie and Loch Lomond.
The first tournament under the new title of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open will be played this summer at Castle Stuart from 12-15th July 12-15, with the three-year agreement seeing the tournament also take its place on The European Tour international schedule in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Although the overall prize fund will drop to £2.5 million, £500,000 less than last year, it will rise to a minimum of £3 million for the 2013 and 2014 tournaments.
"We are also extremely pleased to welcome Scottish Government support. This commitment is another example of Scotland’s strong backing for European Tour events, and is part of the strong partnership that has developed in the build-up to The 2014 Ryder Cup."
"We are delighted to welcome Aberdeen Asset Management, an eminent global company based in Scotland, as title sponsor of the Scottish Open, one of the most prestigious tournaments on The European Tour International Schedule which, this year, will once again be played on the spectacular links layout at Castle Stuart," said European Tour chief executive George O’Grady.
As well as Aberdeen Asset Management’s title sponsorship, the package includes Scottish Government funding to ensure the Scottish Open continues to bring economic and sporting benefits to the whole of the country and helps nurture the next generation of golfing talent by linking the event to a programme of junior golf activities.
The tournament itself, however, has been given a boost with the news that global investment management group, Aberdeen Asset Management, are the new main sponsor, replacing Barclays.
The links course currently has a three-year deal with the European Tour — two of which are guaranteed with an option to continue for a third year. Any decision to take up that option, however, will only be taken when the dust has settled on this year’s Scottish Open.
At the announcement last week to officially unveil Aberdeen Asset Management as new title sponsors of the Scottish Open, European Tour officials stated that a venue for 2013 or 2014 would not be decided upon until Castle Stuart had played host to the event again this year.
THE European Tour has confirmed that no decision will be taken about a future venue for the Scottish Open until after this year’s tournament has been completed.
