SSE Scottish Hydro events get thumbs up

Club golfers given chance to tee up alongside top pros

SOME OF Scotland’s top tour professionals are backing two major events as part of SSE Scottish Hydro’s sponsorship of the SGU which will give club golfers the dream chance to tee up alongside leading professionals on the European Challenge and Senior Tours.

The Scottish Hydro Scramble is a new national event open to all SGU and SLGA affiliated club members, giving golfers the opportunity to play as a team with friends or family members of all ages and abilities, while the Scottish Hydro Senior Champion of Champions rewards older golfers for winning their Club Senior Open and the chance to progress to a high profile national final.

Both events reflect SSE Scottish Hydro’s continued support across all aspects of Scottish golf, from the grass roots club level to Team Scottish Hydro and professional tournaments, in addition to sponsorship of the Scottish Golf Membership Card, an exciting new benefit for club members.

Launched to encourage a more family-friendly approach to golf competitions, clubs taking part in the Scottish Hydro Scramble will host a qualifying event locally, with the winning team of three moving onto one of four Regional Finals held across the country in May. The glorious south-east coast setting of Eyemouth welcomes the first event on May 3, followed by picturesque Pitlochry on May 4 before Balbirnie Park (May 11) in Fife and Eastwood (May 25) on the outskirts of Glasgow stage the remaining two qualifyers.

The winning teams at each Regional Final will earn a place in the Scottish Hydro Challenge Pro-Am at Macdonald Spey Valley on Wednesday June 25, an event which has seen the likes of Edoardo Molinari, Matteo Manassero and Richie Ramsay compete in recent years.

BACKING

Andrew McArthur, the former Scottish Amateur champion who is seeking to graduate from the Challenge Tour this season, was involved in the Scramble at Pitlochry last year and has encouraged all club members to get involved in 2014.

“The Scramble is a good, fun event and it’s great that Hydro is backing it nationally,” said the 34-year-old, a member of Team Scottish Hydro this year. “The more events like this the better for golf in this country, especially for attracting youngsters into the game.”

A unique opportunity to compete in the SSE Scottish Senior Pro-Am at the Fairmont St Andrews alongside a leading European Senior Tour professional is the lure for senior club golfers this season, with the winner of each club senior open in with a chance of this fantastic prize.

Players with the top 50 leading scores from club senior opens this season will earn a spot in the Scottish Hydro Senior Champion of Champions final at Blairgowrie on July 28, with the leading two players going on to rub shoulders with the likes of Sam Torrance, Ian Woosnam and Barry Lane.

LET star Pamela Pretswell, 24, also part of the Team Scottish Hydro stable, is eager to see clubs give their older members the chance to compete in a major event: “It’s a great event for senior golfers to get involved and it’s fantastic that female golfers can take part too. It’s a wonderful benefit of being a member and certainly a reason to register for the new Scottish Golf Membership Card.”

GET INVOLVED Team Scottish Hydro members Chris Kelly, George Murray, Duncan Stewart and Andrew McArthur. They are joined in the stable by Callum Macaulay, Kylie Walker and Pamela Pretswell for 2014

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