A FAMOUS Prestwick golf course will host the top event in Scottish women's golf while the leading men's event will be held in nearby Irvine this summer, we can reveal.

Prestwick St Nicholas Golf Club will host the Scottish Senior Women's Open from June 26 to June 29, after Irvine (Bogside) Golf Club hosts the Scottish Senior Men's Open from June 20 until June 22.

Secretary/Manager Eddie Prentice of Prestwick St Nicholas, is delighted with the news and said: "It's great to be selected for such a prestigious event as it shows that the course is still held in quite a high regard. As it so happens this will be the first year the club have had a female captain and Annette Paterson, who is vice-captain now, will be in place. That will be a boost for the event. I expect competition will be quite strong and we will have a handicap event as well as the main scratch competition.

"We look forward to the event and I expect there will be competitors from the UK, as well as the likes of France, other parts of Europe and possibly the USA. There will no doubt be volunteers helping with the likes of marshalling and scoring."

Irvine (Bogside) assistant secretary Andy Arnott revealed that preparations are already going on for the event.

He said: "In the past we were an Open Championship qualifying course and this is the first time in a few years we will have hosted a major event as the course is considered too short for some competitions. We should have quite a decent field as some of the golfers will be here for the Open at Carnoustie. The greenkeepers will work hard on preparing the course before the event and we look forward to it. "

Scottish Golf’s flagship Women’s and Men’s Amateur Championships will be staged over Elie (June 5 to 9 ) and Blairgowrie (July 31- August 5), before The King’s Course at Gleneagles hosts the Carrick Neill Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play for the first time in late August, a week before the World Amateur Team Championship in Ireland.