Energy rush for Scots' hopes on European Tour

SCOTLAND'S hopes of securing a bigger representation on the European Tour in years to come has received a major boost with the announcement that a group of hand-picked Challenge Tour players are to get backing to the tune of more than £500,000 until 2014.

At a launch at Edinburgh Castle yesterday that received some heavyweight support - European Tour chief executive George O'Grady was joined by Paul Lawrie, Stephen Gallacher and Andrew Coltart - five players were unveiled as the initial members of 'Team Scottish Hydro'.

Gavin Dear, Chris Doak, Craig Lee, Callum Macaulay and Jamie McLeary will all have their tournament-related expenses covered this season by the energy company as well as receiving strategic support that will help the quintet concentrate on trying to follow a well-trodden path from the second-tier circuit to the European Tour.

Weekly expenses on the Challenge Tour are roughly 1,000, just about the same as the main circuit, and with the season's schedule currently comprising of 26 events, the financial backing alone will undoubtedly be a huge help to a group of players who have been identified as having the talent to join the likes of Gallacher, Lawrie and Coltart at the top table of European golf.

"We feel it is important to provide support for home-grown talent and are delighted to be filling a widely-acknowledged void in Scottish golf," said Alistair Phillips-Davies, of Scottish Hydro, in announcing a further commitment by the company to the sport on the back of its sponsorship of the Scottish Challenge at Macdonald Spey Valley.

"It is an open-ended deal and is something we want to keep going for as long as possible. It would be great if, in ten years' time, we saw some major winners coming out of this."

O'Grady, who said it was a "good news day" for the European Tour, reckons the initiative can help Scottish golf produce its own crop of exciting new talent at a time when the likes of Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy and Matteo Manassero have emerged as forces in the game in recent years.

He also pointed to Edoardo Molinari, who finished second behind McLeary in the Scottish Hydro Challenge in Aviemore two years ago, before going on to become a two-time winner on the European Tour last season and a Ryder Cup player as well, as proof that the Challenge Tour is a proven breeding ground for future champions.

"To build the confidence of players to reach the top, you need initiatives like this. It's not just the money but also the back-up advice. Scotland, without question, is playing catch up on the likes of Sweden and Italy.As the home of golf, all the European Tour want to see at least one Scot on the Ryder Cup team at Gleneagles (in 2014) and if that comes through this initiative that would be great," said O'Grady.

The 'Team Scottish Hydro' line up will be reviewed at the end of each season by a panel comprising senior players, Tour professionals and coaches. "It is not a Willy Wonka ticket," said Bounce Management's Iain Stoddart, the man who had the vision for such an initiative and whose enthusiasm to bring it to fruition had, said O'Grady, "driven the Tour mad" over the past three years.

"This is something that has been championed for some time as it has not been a level playing field for Scottish golfers (in terms of sponsorship)," added Stoddart of an announcement that will be followed by more good news next week, when the first slice of the 1 million allocated by the Scottish Government to help with the transition from amateur to professional will be handed out.

The 200,000 per year - it is being spread over five years - is going to the newer recruits to the paid ranks, though Macaulay and, certainly Dear, could also have been considered for that support. Indeed, there is still a possibility they will be on that list as well, though that support will be more to help with the likes of sports science advice and fitness and conditioning expertise.

Of the quintet, Doak, Lee and Macaulay have all held cards for the main Tour in the past only to lose their playing privileges the following season. In the case of Lee, he effectively dropped down to the third tier on the PGA EuroPro Tour but has now stepped back up to the Challenge Tour, as has Doak, though he almost made it on to the main circuit at the Qualifying School in December.

"This support is not only great for us but also the players coming along behind us," said two-time Tartan Tour No 1 Doak. "It is refreshing to see a company like Scottish Hydro willing to do something like this for golf - it is the best thing that has happened for a long time."

Macaulay, a former Scottish amateur champion who came within a shot of winning in his rookie season the European circuit two years ago, admitted a "huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders" and hoped the initiative would help all five team members become "better players" this season.

McLeary said he had certainly been affected in the past by the worry of whether he could afford to play in tournaments on a circuit that, like the main Tour, has become increasingly a global affair. "Even though I was doing okay on the Challenge Tour, there were events - in South Africa, for instance - that I would liked to have played in but was unable to (due to the cost)," he said.