Golf season tees off with sportscotland funding

Monday 11 April 2005

As the golf season swings into action, sportscotland is delighted to announce Lottery funding totalling £236,841 to support the country’s most talented golfers.

An award of £165,341 for the Scottish Golf Union (SGU) includes £64,103 for athlete support, and £101,238 in coach support, whilst the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association (SLGA) will receive £48,500 for athlete support.

2004 was a successful year on the course for amateur golf, with Clare Queen lifting the British Ladies’ Stroke Play title, Stuart Wilson winning The Amateur Championship, and the youths’ side winning the European Team Championships. The game will be hoping for another above par performance this season.

Among those identified for athlete support is the newly crowned Australian Amateur champion Eric Ramsay. The 25 year old from Carnoustie became the second Scot in three years to lift the prestigious crown when he defeated Ozzie Andrew Tampion 6 and 5 in the final at Royal Melbourne last month. The Scottish internationalist will be hoping to repeat his success on the domestic scene and guarantee a place in the Scotland side for the European Team Championships in July.

The seven Scots in the Walker Cup squad have also been identified for athlete support including Amateur Champion Stuart Wilson, fresh from his experience in The Masters at Augusta, Scottish Stroke Play Champion Richard Ramsay, and Scottish Golfer of the Year Jamie McLeary.

Hamish Grey, Scottish Golf Union Chief Executive Officer, said: "The support we receive from sportscotland is very important to the SGU as it allows us to provide a much more in depth programme of competition and training for our players. In particular the support for our coaching team is welcome as their experience, attitude and expertise are major influences on all the players in the SGU national squads.

"It is our aim to continue to provide a high quality programme with a view to repeating the kind of success enjoyed by Eric Ramsay at the Australian Amateur last month."

Athlete support funding is largely managed by the governing body on behalf of athletes to cover coaching, training and competition costs. The Scottish Ladies Golfing Association coaching squad will benefit from athlete support through their national training programme. The squad will receive expert tuition from National Coach Karyn Dallas, and be put through their paces in an intensive training trip to Spain.

British Ladies’ Stroke Play Champion Clare Queen is one of the talented golfers in the national squad benefiting from athlete support funding. Queen, who is a member of the Scottish Institute of Sport, is a former British Girls Champion. The Drumpellier player also lifted the BP Scottish Ladies’ Junior Stroke Play Championship last year, and was fourth reserve for the 2004 Curtis Cup.

Sheila Hartley, Secretary of the SLGA, said: "The support we receive from sportscotland is most welcome as it allows us to enhance our training programme with a warm weather camp in Spain. We are also able to send a team to compete in the European Girls' Team Championship in Switzerland and offer other competitive opportunities to our top players as a result of this funding."

In addition to the support for amateur golf, some of Scotland’s most promising young professional golfers have also been given a boost, through the award of £23,000 in athlete support. Those benefiting from funding to help in their transition from the amateur to professional game are: Vikki Laing, Lynn Kenny, Martin Laird, David Inglis, Jack Doherty, Graham Gordon and Peter Whiteford.

sportscotland Chairman Alastair Dempster said: "sportscotland is committed to helping elite athletes achieve and sustain world class performances through the athlete support programme. A number of Scottish golfers have already demonstrated their potential to achieve on the world stage, and the award of £236,841 Lottery funding will enable this level of performance to continue."

Other beneficiaries of sportscotland funding are the British Bob-Skeleton Association, Scottish Fencing and the Scottish Amateur Rowing Association.

• A list of the athletes benefiting from the athlete support is detailed below. Athlete Support funding is now largely administered through the governing body.
• Athlete Support is a funding programme which merges and replaces the former Junior Groups and Talented Athlete programmes and provides a seamless, integrated pathway for the development of emerging talent. It supports the training and preparation programmes for elite athletes who have demonstrated the potential to win medals or equivalent, in significant international competitions and events such as the Olympics, Paralympics and Commonwealth Games (or equivalent).
• All athletes who receive Athlete Support will also be supported by the new sportscotland medical scheme.
  

Identified athletes by Governing Bodies receiving Athlete Support April 2005

Scottish Golf Union

Tom Rennie, ABERDEENSHIRE, AB15

Jordan Findlay, ABERDEENSHIRE, AB43

Richie Ramsay, ABERDEENSHIRE, AB15

Lewis Kirton, ABERDEENSHIRE, AB51

Graham Gordon, ABERDEENSHIRE, AB32

George Murray, ANSTRUTHER, KY10

Eric Ramsay, CARNOUSTIE, DD7

Scott Borrowman, CLACKMANNANSHIRE, FK14

Glenn Campbell, COUPAR ANGUS, PH13

David Inglis, EDINBURGH EH25

James White, FIFE, KY8

Peter Whiteford, FIFE, KY8

Stuart Wilson, FORFAR, DD8

Scott Henry, GLASGOW, G81

Andrew McArthur, GLASGOW, G61

Jonathan King, GLASGOW, G4

Craig Watson, GLASGOW, G72

Martin Laird, GLASGOW, G61

Thomas Martin, GLASGOW, G52

Christopher Gaitens, Inverness, IV10

Michael Stewart, KILMARNOCK, KA10

Steven McEwan, KILMARNOCK, KA1

Robert McKnight, KILMARNOCK, KA1

David Addison, KILMARNOCK, KA3

Lloyd Saltman, KILSPINDIE, EH23

Jamie McLeary, KIRKCALDY, KY1

Graeme Brown, MONTROSE, DD10

Paul O’Hara, MOTHERWELL, ML1

Ross Kellet, MOTHERWELL, ML1

Jack Doherty, PONTYCLUN, CF72

Jonathan Caldwell, RENFREWSHIRE, PA16

Euan Polson, SUTHERLAND, KW9

Cameron Gray, WEST KILBRIDE, KA24

Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association

Laura Murray, ABERDEENSHIRE, AB33

Michele Thomson, ABERDEENSHIRE, AB41

Pamela Feggans, AYRSHIRE, KA6

Carly Booth, CRIEFF, PH7

Roseanne Niven, CRIEFF, PH7

Vikki Laing, EDINBURGH, EH21

Amanda Edwards, EDINBURGH, EH13

Rachael Livingstone, EDINBURGH, EH21

Jane Turner, EDINBURGH, EH26

Krystle Caithness, FIFE, KY16

Louise Kenney, FIFE, KY11

Sally Watson, FIFE, KY9

Gemma Webster, GLASGOW, G62

Anne Laing, GLASGOW, G83

Kylie Walker, GLASGOW, G63

Clare Queen, LANARKSHIRE, ML5

Jenna Wilson, LANARKSHIRE, ML10

Kelsey MacDonald, NAIRN, IV12

Megan Briggs, RENFREWSHIRE, PA13

Martine Pow, SELKIRK, TD7

Lynn Kenny, STIRLINGSHIRE, FK15

Dawn Dewar, STIRLINGSHIRE, FK9

Heather MacRae, STIRLINGSHIRE, FK15

British Bob-Skeleton Association

Max Asente, GLASGOW

Madeline Robinson, GLASGOW

Liam McDermid, GLASGOW, G83

Alistair Tatton, WEST LOTHIAN

Scottish Fencing

Harry Moncrieff, KINROSSHIRE

Edward Jeffries, ROSS-SHIRE

John Robinson, WEST LOTHIAN

Scottish Amateur Rowing Association

Seonaid Crosby, ABERDEENSHIRE, AB25

Laura West, DUMFRIES, DG1

Alistair Sarahs, DUMFRIES, DG1

Polly Swann, EDINBURGH, EH9

Stephanie McDowall, EDINBURGH, EH8

Henry Westwood, GLASGOW, G3

Iain Cockburn, GLASGOW, G72

David McNeill, GLASGOW G12

Gavin Shaw, GLASGOW, G69

Daniel Prescott, GLASGOW, G63

Heather Callaghan, LANARKSHIRE, ML3

Leanne Mains, LANARKSHIRE, ML3

£16,467 Athlete Support and £1,666 Performance Coach Development

Total funding: £18,133