Scots courses express interest in Solheim Cup

Alan Tait: Dalmahoy bid. Picture: Peter Kelly

Following the success of last year’s Ryder Cup, Gleneagles is also ready to toss its hat in the ring if VisitScotland decide to table a concrete proposal for the event.

Dalmahoy staged the 1992 match – the first in the series between the women professionals of Europe and the United States to be staged on this side of the Atlantic. “Dalmahoy will certainly be putting our name forward for getting the Solheim Cup back,” said Alan Tait, director of golf at the Marriott-owned venue on the outskirts of Edinburgh. “Being the venue where the Europeans first won the trophy was a huge accolade for Dalmahoy. It was also the beginning of a new era in European ladies’ golf and I would obviously love to see the return of the cup back to its ‘spiritual home’.”

Loch Lomond, where Europe won as well in 2000, has also indicated to VisitScotland that it might welcome the biennial event back. “The club have expressed an interest in hosting the Solheim Cup,” said a spokesman, though that could also include Dundonald Links, its sister course in Ayrshire.

Kingsbarns and Carnoustie are concentrating on the 2017 Women’s British Open and 2018 Open Championship respectively, but Gleneagles are also interested in staging another of golf’s major team events.

“We are very much committed to holding more major golfing events at Gleneagles and The Solheim Cup is definitely one we would love to see come to the area,” said a spokeswoman. “However, like The Ryder Cup, bidding for such an event would be very much a Scotland-wide initiative, as the venue is only one part of the puzzle.”