DUNDONALD Links has been confirmed as the venue for the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies’ Scottish Open golf tournament for next year.

The news – which means the Irvine course will host the tournament for the third year in a row – comes after the announcement earlier this year that Dundonald Links will host the Men’s Scottish Open as well.

The ladies’ tournament will take place from July 27-30.
It is the first time in the history of the two tournaments that they will both be held at the same venue, and visitor numbers are expected to be in excess of 50,000.

The ladies’ tournament is to move from the current pro-am format to an individual stroke play format following an agreement between the European Tour and Ladies’ PGA, supported by title sponsors Aberdeen Asset Management and key partner VisitScotlad.

A prize fund of £1.5m is now on offer for the 156-strong field.

Councillor Joe Cullinane, Leader of North Ayrshire Council, said: “This is fantastic news for Dundonald Links and North Ayrshire as a whole.

“The Aberdeen Asset Ladies’ Scottish Open has been a huge success over the last couple of years. But this new deal means the prize money will be even bigger and the competition will be even stronger.

“To have this event alone would be great, but to have the male event a couple of weeks before is incredible. The whole area will be buzzing and we’re sure that the thousands who visit will have a brilliant time in North Ayrshire.

“We will be working with the organisers to make sure both events run as smoothly as possible and that our communities play their part too.”