Golf: Gallacher excited to be part of new initiative

Published on Wednesday 10 March 2010 08:45

FORMER Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher is confident a £1m investment in a new initiative will help Scotland finally unearth a genuine successor to eight-time European No 1 Colin Montgomerie.

Lothians legend Gallacher has agreed to sit on the board of a new company that will be set up by sportscotland to manage the new investment targeting the transition of amateurs to Tour professionals.

He jumped at the chance to become involved and is looking forward to sitting around the table with the likes of Monty and major winners Paul Lawrie and Catriona Matthew to discuss where the money should go.

"I was approached by Douglas Connon, the Chairman of the Scottish Golf Union, about getting involved in this initiative," said Gallacher.

"I have known him for a long time and I am happy to be on board as I feel I have something to offer.

"I think this initiative will definitely help, though I think there is more to it than simply handing out money to players.

"It is good that the First Minister and the Scottish Governmen see how important this is Scotland - that's the main thing."

While Gallacher has lived in the south of England for a number of years, he's well aware of golfing matters in Scotland and believes the facts speak for themselves when it comes to players making that transition from amateue to professional.

"Scotland has a rich history of producing outstanding amateurs. They do well at club level and for Scotland but when they make that switch to the professional game something goes wrong," he added.

"While it was great to see players like Martin Laird and Richie Ramsay winning last year, we still almost seem to be relying on Monty and Sandy Lyle to be carrying the flag for Scotland. Hopefully this new initiative will see a few more Scots playing in the majors and the WGC events in the not too distant future."

Monty, Lawrie and Matthew have agreed to support the initiative, the money for which is coming from sportscotland, the Scottish Government and the National Lottery, in an advisory capacity.

"The input of these people will be invaluable as part of this is how to cope as a professional," said Gallacher. "Catriona's advice will be as helpful to those in the men's game as it will be to the women and I am looking forward to sitting around the table with her and the others."

Details of the new initiative were announced yesterday at North Berwick Golf Club, where Louise Martin, Chair of sportscotland, was joined by First Minister Alex Salmond.

They also revealed that a further 1m was going to the Scottish Golf Union and the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association for coaching and player development. Half of that will be spent on clubgolf, the highly-successful national junior initiative.

"As Scotland gears up to stage five Women's British Opens over the next decade and host the Ryder Cup in 2014, this investment puts us in a great position to attract more professional players to the game," said Salmond on his visit to East Lothian.

"It will also build on the success of clubgolf, which has introuced golf to record numbers of children in Scotland - almost 40,000 primary 5 pupils last year.

"This excellent package of support at every level puts us well on the way to re-establishing Scotland as the world's greatest golfing nation."