PING and Revive Active join forces with Scottish Golf on two 2017 tournaments
By Ed Hodge
Scottish Golf is delighted to bring two new sponsors on board for its handicap championships in 2017, providing the opportunity for club members to play on some of the finest courses in the country and win some fantastic prizes.
The PING Scottish Mixed Championship is to be a unique new addition to the calendar this season, with the leading golf brand sponsoring Scottish Golf for the first time. In another boost to the governing body’s partnership portfolio, the Scottish Women’s Regional Medal will be sponsored by Revive Active, a health food brand growing their profile in sport.
Meantime, long-serving partner Belhaven will continue to sponsor the popular Captains & Secretaries Championship in 2017.
All affiliated clubs are encouraged to add the events to their calendars with Scottish Golf circulating information directly to clubs in the coming weeks.
PING Scottish Mixed Championship
This exciting mixed team competition for Scottish club golfers tee offs in 2017, with Solheim Cup venue, The Gleneagles Hotel, to act as host for the showpiece finale.
The innovative new event will bring male and female golfers together in a fun-filled format for all ages and abilities to add further value to club membership.
American Beth Allen, the Scots-based new Ladies European Tour No 1, and Scottish Golf Men’s Order of Merit winner Euan McIntosh were on hand at Gleneagles to help launch the event, along with Scottish Golf chief executive BlaneDodds.
The free-to-enter competition is open to all golf club members in Scotland holding an official handicap, from juniors to seniors. Golfers can compete in a mixed event at local club level (Stableford format), with the top 40 club pairings nationwide going forward to the Grand Final over the superb Queen’s Course at Gleneagles.
The event sees a fitting partnership between Scottish Golf, Gleneagles and PING, given the manufacturer was founded by KarstenSolheim, who helped create the biggest team event in ladies’ golf. Beatson Cancer Charity is the official charity partner for the competition, with Beatson also charity partner for this year’s Scottish Golf Awards at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange.
The PING Scottish Mixed Championship will see qualifying take place at club level (either using an existing mixed event in the club’s calendar or introducing a new event) from April through to the end of July.
Scottish Golf’s online leaderboard will show the top 40 mixed Stableford scores nationwide, with 80 golfers then coming together to contest the Grand Final over the idyllic James Braid-designed Queen’s on Monday 18 September 2017. Dodds said: ìWe’re pleased to launch this new mixed event for club golfers in 2017, one which adds further value to club membership and offers the chance to compete at a world-class venue for the final.
We are delighted to be working with PING for the first time and it’s great to have such a strong global golf brand supporting grass roots golf in Scotland. The environment remains challenging for attracting investment from sponsorship, but these partnerships illustrate our continued determination to grow the game and enhance the golfing experience for club members.
John Clark, PING Europe Managing Director, added: ìWe’re delighted to be supporting this new mixed event which will bring together both female and male golfers from around Scotland in a competitive, yet fun format at one of the UK’s most iconic venues.
Allen said: ìIt’s great that Scottish Golf, PING and Gleneagles are doing this event for club golfers in the build up to the Solheim Cup. It would obviously be great for me to represent the United States of America in Scotland in 2019 and I’m sure the players who qualify for the final of the PING Scottish Mixed Championship will have an amazing experience at Gleneagles.
With the Perthshire property staging the Solheim Cup – only five years after hosting The Ryder Cup – and the inaugural European Golf Team Championships in 2018, the new PING Scottish Mixed Championship adds to Gleneagles’ illustrious event history across the amateur and professional game.
Revive Active Scottish
Women’s Regional medal Scottish Golf’s most popular women’s competition is to be energised with a new title sponsor for the next three years thanks to an exciting partnership with leading health foods brand Revive Active.
The Irish-based company, who recently announced a sponsorship deal with three-time London Marathon winner and world women’s marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe, will become headline sponsors of the Scottish Women’s Regional Medal finals, a nationwide event open to all female club members in Scotland.
Revive Active become the first brand to dedicate sponsorship to women’s golf in Scotland since the governing body became amalgamated in October 2015, with the announcement coming quickly after Scottish Golf secured PING as a partner for the revamped national Mixed Championship, which will take place for the first time this season.
As part of the agreement, Revive Active will also become the Official Super Food and Nutrition Partner for Scottish Golf, supporting the governing body’s campaign to encourage playing golf as part of a healthy lifestyle which can increase life expectancy by up to five years.
Launched in 2011, Revive Active offer a range of health food supplements. Their team includes doctors, scientists, production specialists and expert nutritionists; all dedicated to making innovative super food supplements that really work.
The Revive Active Scottish Women’s Regional Medal is the biggest event for women golfers in Scotland, with more than 300 clubs taking part each year. It offers the winners of the Silver and Bronze Medals at club level the opportunity to compete in one of four Regional Finals in May and June, with the leading 24 players being rewarded with a place in the Grand Final, hosted at the glorious Perthshire venue of Crieff Golf Club on July 16.
Daith O’Connor, managing director of Revive Active, said: ìGolf is great for your health and requires a keen eye for accuracy and it is great for meeting new people. We’re therefore delighted to be partnering with Scottish Golf as the benefits of Revive Active’s Super Supplement range continue to grow in popularity throughout Scotland.
We are proud to support women’s golf at club level and look forward to welcoming more than 600 competitors to the four regional finals later who will hopefully enjoy sampling our products.
Scottish Golf’s marketing and commercial director Ross Duncan added: ìWe are delighted to add Revive Active as the first sponsor of the Scottish Women’s Regional Medal which will undoubtedly enhance what is already an extremely popular event among our clubs.
The brand is a great fit for us as we continue to promote the message that golf is a sport offering many healthy lifestyle benefits. The sponsorship market remains very challenging so we welcome the additional investment from a young, dynamic company and we look forward to working with the Revive Active team to deliver a successful long-term partnership.
This year’s Revive Active Scottish Women’s Regional Medal finals take place at Grantown-on-Spey (May 7), Kirkcaldy (May 16), Largs (May 26) and Torwoodlee (June 16). Further details on qualifying criteria can be found on the Championships section of the Scottish Golf website.
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