First Minister
Alex Salmond will deliver a speech to the European Tour Players Awards Ceremony
tonight (Tuesday) in which he will highlight the huge sporting and economic
benefits of Scotland’s position as the undisputed Home of Golf.
The European Tour
invited the First Minister to attend as guest of honour at the Awards Ceremony
in London in recognition of the Scottish Government’s support for
developing golf in Scotland.
The First Minister
will use his speech to highlight the sporting and economic success that golf
will deliver for Scotland in 2014, which include:
- This
year’s Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen in July will benefit the local
economy by at least £5 million and play host to some of the world’s
best players. After the Scottish Open was placed in considerable doubt, the
future of the event was secured after a sponsorship deal was brokered between
Aberdeen Asset Management and the Scottish Government in 2012
- American
TV channel NBC will provide live coverage of the Scottish Open for the second
consecutive year. This makes it the first regular European Tour event to be
shown live on a major US broadcast network, opening up the tournament to tens
of millions of viewers
- The Ryder
Cup, widely regarded as the third biggest sporting event in the world, will be
hosted at Gleneagles in September and will generate at least £100 million
for the Scottish economy
- Catriona
Matthew, the first Scot to win a women's major golf championship, will
defend her Ladies Scottish Open title at the Royal Archerfield Course in East
Lothian in August
- According
to the latest figures by KPMG, golf tourism is worth more than £1 billion
to Scotland
- The
acclaimed ClubGolf Initiative, supported by the Scottish Government and
partners, has introduced over 300,000 children to the game since
2003
The First Minister
will say:
“Scotland is
the Home of Golf and in 2014 we are teeing up for a true golfing
bonanza.
“The
Scottish Open is one of the flagship events on the European Tour, as well as a
jewel in the crown of the Scottish sporting calendar, attracting keen interest
from golf fans across the globe. We expect a top class field at Royal Aberdeen
in July as players take to one of the world’s finest links course in
preparation for The Open Championship the following week.
“The
Scottish Open is the first regular European Tour event to be given prime-time
coverage on US network television. It is a fantastic boost for Scottish golf
and an incredible opportunity for us to showcase the fantastic golf on offer at
Royal Aberdeen and the magnificent scenery across the country to tens of
millions of US viewers.
“In
September, we welcome Europe and America’s best players to Gleneagles to
contest The Ryder Cup: a truly massive global event, reaching more than 180
countries and half a billion homes on each day of the competition.
“These two
fantastic events can only encourage more and more people around the world to
play golf in Scotland and I’m hopeful we will build on the latest figures
that show golf tourism to be worth more than a staggering £1.1 billion to
our economy.
“ClubGolf
does a tremendous job in introducing the game to hundreds of thousands of
youngsters. The Scottish Government will continue to support this wonderful
programme to get a club into the hands of girls and boys across the country,
laying the foundations for a love of the sport and Scotland’s incredible
courses.
“2014 will
clearly be a special year for sport in Scotland and we will build on this with
some exciting announcements in the weeks to come. What is certain is that
everyone in this country can look forward to a bright and exciting future for
Scottish golf.”
Notes To Editors
KPMG’s
latest industry report estimated that Scotland’s total golf economy
generated £1.171 billion in revenues for the wider Scottish economy
during 2011.
More on The Ryder
Cup
More on the Scottish
Open
More on the Ladies Scottish
Open
ClubGolf is
Scotland's national junior golf programme which is delivering its Ryder Cup
pledge by introducing children to golf and supporting the early development of
young golfers through structured coaching.