The 2021 Order of Merit was a huge success, the Tour visited 7 different courses throughout the season as players competed to amass points with the ambition of being crowned Champion Golfer of the Year.

The success of 2021 has translated into a larger and stronger field for 2022. 13 players will play in the Order of Merit. Contrary to the published 2022 schedule two changes have been made by the Tour for the Order of Merit line-up. Following the news that Stephen Green, third place in 2021, will be scaling back his Tour commitments Mearns Castle Academy has been removed from the rota and replaced by Aberdour Golf Club. Also, for 2022 Forrester Park Resort has been removed from the rota and will be replaced with Lochgelly Golf Club. Both tournaments, Mearns Castle Memorial and Forrester Park Open, will retain their names in recognition of where they were first held.

The 2022 schedule will therefore look like;

March 20th – St Andrew’s Open – The Eden Course, St Andrews
April 4th – Kinghorn Classic – Kinghorn Golf Club, Kinghorn
May 1st – Mearns Castle Memorial – Aberdour Golf Club, Aberdour
June 26th – Dodhead Invitational – Burntisland Golf House Club, Burntisland
July 17th – King’s Cup – Canmore Golf Club, Dunfermline
August 21st – Forrester Open – Lochgelly Golf Club, Lochgelly
August 26th – Tour Championship – Craigielaw Golf Club, East Lothian

Like 2022 the players will compete for points in each of the events with double points on offer for both rounds in the Tour Championship. However, unlike 2021 the point structure will change. In 2021 points were on offer, on a reducing scale, for all 7 places. However, in 2022 points will be awarded to the top 9 players with the bottom four receiving no points. The scale will be as follows;

1st – 1000 points
2nd – 800 points
3rd – 700 points
4th – 600 points
5th – 500 points
6th – 400 points
7th – 300 points
8th – 200 points
9th – 100 points

In 2022 the players will once again compete for the James Braid Quaich, and moniker of Champion Golfer of the Year, awarded to the player with the most points at the end of the season. The Harry Vardon Trophy, awarded to the player with the best average net score through the season.

However new to 2022 will be the Inchkeith Cup which will be awarded to the player with the best aggregate score across Kinghorn, Aberdour and Burntisland. These three courses are separated by 15 miles of coast on the Firth of Forth and enjoy views across to Scotland’s capital city Edinburgh. Inchkeith Island sits exactly halfway between the two shorelines of Fife and Edinburgh and for years was the site of constant struggle by invading armies and navies. Now an abandoned island it sits prominently in the Forth and can be seen from all three courses.

If the rollercoaster ride of 2021 is anything to go by we are sure that 2022 is going to be an exciting season with lots of twists and turns along the way.