Guest Blog by Visit Scotland
SCOTLAND TEES UP A SUMMER OF GOLF
Scotland is gearing up for
an incredible summer of golf during which more than 300,000 spectators are
expected to attend the multitude of world-class golf events taking place up and
down the country.
Following on from 2014 when
Scotland hosted what is regarded as the “best-ever” Ryder Cup at Gleneagles,
the country which gave golf to the world boasts no fewer than nine top-class
professional events throughout 2015 across both the men’s and ladies’ game.
The spectacular summer
kicks off this week in Aviemore when the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge gets
underway at Spey Valley GC, marking the 10th year of Visit Scotland
support for one of the premier events on the European Challenge Tour. And the
action doesn’t stop until the end of September when the biggest names in sport
and celebrity tee it up in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship to bring an
end to another thrilling summer of golf in Scotland.
VisitScotland is investing a total of just over
£2 million into eight of these events but, with golf tourism worth an estimated
£220m to the economy and supporting around 4,400 jobs, these events ensure
Scotland remains at the forefront of world golf.
Following the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge,
which is being supported by VisitScotland for the tenth successive year, we
turn our attention to the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open Qualifier at
North Berwick.
The exciting new
event, which will be part of the PGA in Scotland’s Tartan Tour schedule, offers
five spots in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Gullane on July
9-12.
The Scottish Open itself will attract tens of
thousands of spectators to the East Lothian course to watch Justin Rose defend
his title against one of the strongest fields of any European Tour event . Not
only that, but it will be beamed globally by a network of broadcasters
including Sky Sports in the UK and throughout the United States by NBC, all of
which helps to promote Scotland, the Home of Golf as a fantastic golf tourism
destination.
The jewel in the summer crown will be the 144th
staging of The Open Championship at St Andrews, which returns to the Old Course
for the first time since 2010. More than 200,000 are expected to attend from
16-19 July to see the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson
battle it out for the sport’s oldest and grandest prize.
The last time it was staged at St Andrews, the
Open generated £100 million for Scotland, which included a country-wide
economic impact of £47.4m and a marketing benefit of £52.6m calculated from global
television coverage which presents Scotland as the Home of Golf.
The Open is broadcast on more than 100 channels with a household reach
of 505 million. It really is an incredible showcase, not only for St Andrews,
but for Scotland as a whole.
We’ll barely have time to draw breath following
the presentation of the famous Claret Jug before the Aberdeen Asset Management
Ladies Scottish Open tees off at Dundonald Links, Ayrshire, on 24 July, while
the Ricoh Women’s Open will be played out in the magnificent surrounds of Trump
Turnberry Resort from 30 July to 2 August.
Over the same four days, the European Tour and
Paul Lawrie – Scotland’s most recent male Major champion – launch the inaugural
Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play at Murcar Links, on
the outskirts of Lawrie’s native Aberdeen.
It will pit 64 of the leading players on The Race to Dubai against each other in a straight knock out, match play contest and will attract thousands of spectators to the North-East.
The action returns to
East Lothian from 27-29 August when the Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior Open
comes to Archerfield Links for the first time, while our
amazing summer of golf comes to a close with the Alfred Dunhill Links
Championship at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns – an event that has
previously attracted celebrities such as Samuel L Jackson, Damien Lewis and
Shane Warne.
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