Pro Golf Tour Started By Major Champion Sanctioned By OWGR

The Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) has announced that the Tartan Pro Tour has been granted access to world ranking points.

The Tartan Pro Tour, founded by 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie, is a Scottish-based development tour for male and female golfers that was first created in 2020.

Alongside the Clutch Pro Tour, which was granted OWGR points last month, both Tours will provide a direct feeder organisation for the Challenge Tour, taking over from the now-extinct PGA EuroPro Tour.

The 54-hole Tour has been working with the OWGR for the last 16 months, making several changes to its structure and pathways but will now start earning points as of next week.

"The Governing Board of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) today announces the inclusion of the Tartan Pro Tour into the OWGR System," a statement from the OWGR said.

"Created in 2020 by the 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie, the Scottish-based Tartan Pro Tour provides a stepping-stone for tournament professionals to progress to the European Challenge Tour and DP World Tour.

"The Tartan Pro Tour has worked continuously with OWGR over the last 16 months, providing requested documentation and making necessary adjustments to further adhere to long-standing OWGR Eligibility and Format Criteria.

OWGR Chairman Peter Dawson added: “It is a great pleasure to welcome the Tartan Pro Tour to the family of OWGR Eligible Golf Tours. The Tour will play a significant role in providing competitive opportunities and career pathways for aspiring players."

This latest announcement from the OWGR, though, is likely to cause further consternation from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf who also hold 54-hole events but were denied OWGR status in October last year.

LIV eventually abandoned their bid for OWGR eligibility in March this year, with Dawon previously stating that their closed-shop model and team format meant they could not "ranked equitably with other tours who conform to the OWGR norm".

Speaking at this week's PGA Championship, PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh went further, suggesting that LIV didn't fully understand the process.

“As far as OWGR goes, when LIV asked for points, they publicly assumed they were going to have points and made some promises. I think they expected an answer in a very short period of time," he said.

“That's just never happened. So I think they misunderstood how the process went. I'm not saying it's their fault. I'm just saying I think they misunderstood.”