Scottish Open loses out to Loch Lomond

The Loch Lomond World Invitational is to be staged the week before the Open championship at Royal Troon next July, replacing the Scottish Open.

There had been rumours of the two events merging into one but the Scottish Open - held since 1985 - has struggled after losing its sponsor two years ago. It will be dropped from the 1997 European Tour schedule.

The World Invitational, held for the first time last month, was won by the Danish rookie, Thomas Bjorn. The prize fund for the event last month was pounds 780,000, whereas the Scottish Open at Carnoustie had to cut its prize money from pounds 650,000 to pounds 480,000 because of lack of sponsorship.

Ken Schofield, the Tour's executive director, said: "There is no question that the inaugural Loch Lomond World Invitational matched the Tour's objectives of providing the highest-quality golf at the best locations in Europe."