Legends Mark James, Paul Lawrie, Paul McGinley and Ian Woosnam pose with Mark Aspland and Ryan Howsam at Wentworth

Paul McGinley will go back to his roots next summer and bring the groundbreaking new Legends Tour format to Donegal when Rosapenna's Old Tom Morris links hosts a seniors event in August.

The Legends Tour is the new name for the Staysure Tour, which has been rebranded in a joint venture between the European Tour and Staysure founder Ryan Howsam.

A self-made man, Howsam has put his money where his mouth is and decided to use the tried and trusted Pro-Am structure to leverage the drawing power of Ryder Cup captains McGinley, Darren Clarke, Mark James, Tom Lehman, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam and major winners Michael Campbell and Paul Lawrie to re-launch the seniors tour in Europe.

As many as 50 well-heeled amateurs will pay at least £60,000 (€67,200) to join the 'Legends Club' and play with the pros in three-day alliance events for their own Amateur Order of Merit and compete for a place in the end-of-season Tour Final.

"It's basically taking the dynamic of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Dunhill Links Pro-Am and turning that into a tour," said McGinley, whose McGinley Foundation will host the Irish leg of the Legends Tour on the Old Tom Morris links for two years.

Howsam is a golf nut, and he realised playing alongside the legends in pro-ams that this was a money-spinning format and something that would be especially attractive to burgeoning over 50's market, which is one of the fastest-growing and most affluent of all demographics.

Staysure has a growing database of over 5.5 million people and aims to release what it considers the "as yet untapped commercial potential of the Legends Tour."

"We trialled the Alliance format over the last couple of years, playing with Colin Montgomerie, Paul McGinley and Michael Campbell and it was just off the scale," Howsam said at Wentworth yesterday. "There is nothing better than playing in tournament play when you are playing with guys like this. It is going to be outstanding. In addition, we are going to launch a celebrity pro-am, and with both that and the Alliance, these players are going to be able to get to the Legends Tour Final, whether that is in Mauritius or wherever it is."

McGinley knows from experience that the Pro-Am format is a potential gold mine given his experience as host of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Lahinch last year.

"Two things Ryan has highlighted as to the keys to the success of Seniors golf going forward - the tried and tested formula throughout the history of professional golf and something that bring so much value to sponsors, is obviously the Pro-Am," McGinley said.

"Getting access to a Pro-Am team is a very prestigious thing to do. I know from my own experience with the Irish Open last year down in Lahinch, a number of people came to me with huge offers of money to get a team in the Pro-Am. There was no access really because the sponsors had all the teams tied up - Dubai Duty Free, Failte Ireland, all the people who made a big investment in the Irish Open.

"So he has taken than dynamic and formula and based a tour around it. The second thing he has done is recognise the value of the bigger names - ex Ryder Cup captains or Major winners, and we are contracted to be the base of it and play a certain amount of events.

"He is a hugely successful person who is moving away from his core business and sees this a huge opportunity. This is not a philanthropy thing for him; this is business.

"I can speak for nearly all the players and say that this new injection and inclusion of energy from Ryan and all the financial investments is certainly very welcome. What we are trying to do is something that has historically always worked in professional golf wherever that may be throughout the world, and that is the value of the Pro-Am circuit.

"We all know that the AT&T and the Dunhill are two of the most oversubscribed events in professional golf and very successful ones, and it is taking that dynamic and building a tour around it."

As part of his deal at Lahinch, McGinley was able to sell several Pro-Am teams at a premium at Lahinch through the McGinley Foundation, where he also set up his own "Shebeen" offering corporate hospitality overlooking the 18th green, allowing the foundation to donate €60,000 towards an astroturf sports facility at Scoil Mhuire in Lahinch and €15,000 to the North West Clare Family Resource Centre.

The Legends Tour event in Rosapenna will be a much smaller affair. Still, McGinley hopes to attract former Masters champion Woosnam and other stars and give the amateurs who sign up a top-class experience with a Lahinch-style street party in Downings over the weekend.

"As much as this tour will be successful based on the amateurs getting involved it will be the interaction between the pros and the amateurs, that craic at night, the banter and being part of the circus that is professional golf that will bring it forward," he said. "That's what they are going to enjoy as much as us, who are going to be competing on it.

"The McGinley Foundation is going to be hosting it at Rosapenna, and it's going to be great craic with a great town and great pubs around the area and a great hotel attached to the golf course. I have known the [Casey] family who own it all my life. My mum and dad are from Donegal, and I am looking forward to bringing the Tour up there.

"I can assure you it is going to be great. It was going to happen this year with the same formula we have at the Irish Open last year with a party in the street and local music and have craic and banter because that is what will ultimately attract people to it. I expect big crowds, Covid-19 dependent, and I am looking forward to it at the end of August next year."

Howsam was ready to announce his plans for the Legends Tour, and the Irish event, earlier this year before Covid-19 forced a delay.

Darren Clarke. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

He now has more time to build a schedule and attract new sponsors and partners worldwide, and he believes he's on to a winner with the Alliance format.

"There are only 30 spots available in this Alliance format, and we are going to sell 20 memberships ahead of that," he said. "These 20 are going to be able to go to the Tour final and play as many alliance events as they want. We are looking for 20 well off people to play this Tour and I think we will have a waiting list for it. As Paul said, apart from the Dunhill and the AT&T, where else can you do this?"

"There is an Alliance membership with a cost of £60,000 and that is going to get them in the Tour final and each tournament you can come and play. There are 10 other spots, and there will be a starting bid, and people can pay as much as they want to get one of those spots. They are going to be difficult to get in. We want people to pay as much for this experience as it deserves because it is going to be top drawer."

The Legends Tour currently has a deal with Sky Sports under the European Tour umbrella for its highlights show. But they believe they can do far more and don't rule out playing on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to take advantage of times when Sky has more airtime available.

"We have been been speaking to Sky Sports about the format and other media holders," Howsam said. "Putting these Legends front and centre, I don't think it was marketed anywhere near as well as it could have been. When you have these guys we have grown up watching, and they are the best at what they do and still brilliant players, with the quality of the players, celebrities involved and the ability of people with a few quid to come and play, I know Sky are interested.

"Maybe we can top and tail it with a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday format. That would make more sense for Sky. We will go where the money is. I think we have a product that people will want to see.
"We have a contract in place with Sky through the European Tour for the highlights show but that highlights show can go a long way from where it is with more quality and shot tracer and banter. So that's what we are going to do."

The revolutionary new ownership structure is the first time in golf that an individual will have a controlling stake and leadership role in a major Tour.

Entrepreneur Howsam will work alongside the Head of the Legends Tour, Mark Aspland, and the current Tour staff with a clear focus on driving greater consumer engagement, particularly among the affluent European 50+-year-old mature market.

"We will continue to build the alliance format which I believe offers the best amateur experience in golf, whilst we will commercialise across other golf markets including holidays and equipment," Howsam said.

"Staysure has been involved with the Tour since 2017 as a title sponsor, and I believe the untapped commercial potential that the Legends Tour has to offer is unlimited.

"Together we will build this into a brand for professionals, including Ryder Cup players and European Tour winners, as well as amateurs, spectators, promoters and sponsors alike. Golf is unique in that it has high profile and lucrative competitions for players in the over 50's age group. This is our expertise. Competitions will be talked about, loved, and watched, and we will be rewarding and supporting our members with prize money and endorsements each season."

Head of the Legends Tour, Mark Aspland said: "We experienced some strong commercial momentum on the back of the Staysure partnership in this first two years of the partnership, and over the past 12 months we have been working with Ryan and our members to take this to the next level. While the global pandemic delayed those plans from being announced and led to the cancellation of our 2020 season, we are all excited to unveil the new Legends Tour today as we plan for 2021 and beyond.

"With Ryan's business acumen and entrepreneurial flair, our commercial focus will be on enhancing engagement and showcasing the experiences our Tour can offer, which we ultimately hope will drive greater prize funds and playing opportunities for our members.

"Our Major Champions, our past Ryder Cup players and Captains and our European Tour winners have considerable pulling power, and the accessibility to them offered by our new structure will form the basis of these growth plan moving forwards."

Ian Woosnam, eight-time Ryder Cup player and 2006 Ryder Cup-winning captain, said: "This is a really exciting development for the Tour. The plans that Ryan has in place alongside Mark Aspland have the potential to be game-changing for over-50s golf, and I am looking forward to being a part of it

"I was absolutely thrilled when I was asked to be a Legends Tour ambassador, and I will do all I can, alongside the other ambassadors, to help grow this Tour for my fellow professionals and the amateurs who will form the Legends Club."

Mark James, seven-time Ryder Cup player and 1999 Team Europe Captain, said: "I see the re-launch of this Tour as something which could change the landscape of over-50s golf forever.

"The alliance format which we have played for the last two years has brought a different dimension to competitive golf, and it is something which professionals and amateurs enjoy. Playing that format even more going forwards will give the players the opportunity to meet a plethora of people and form new relationships, while amateurs will continue to hear the many stories from our lives on Tour."

Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open Champion and 2012 Ryder Cup winner said: "I have only experienced one season since turning 50, but I immediately felt at home thanks to the friendly nature of the Legends Tour.

"The mix of players and amateurs is a unique dynamic and one that is appreciated by the professionals. I have been very impressed by Ryan's vision for the Tour, and I am excited to work with him, along with Mark Aspland and his team, as an ambassador to drive the Tour forward."