Martin Dempster: Northern Open cash proves a timely asset

OVERSHADOWED, understandably, by RBS withdrawing its support of the Open Championship, one of the biggest events on the Tartan Tour has received a timely boost.

The Northern Open, once the early-season highlight on the Scottish calendar, will have Aberdeen Asset Management as its title sponsor when the event takes place at Meldrum House, outside Aberdeen, next month.

While bewildering that the event's move to a new home was announced in the middle of the Open Championship at St Andrews, it is encouraging, nonetheless, that an effort is being made to breath life back into this grand tournament.

Praiseworthy, too, is the support being provided for Scottish golf in general by Aberdeen Asset Management, driven, no doubt, by its golf-mad chief executive, Martin Gilbert. The company support a stable of players that includes Colin Montgomerie, Sandy Lyle, Paul Lawrie, Mhairi McKay and Carly Booth, as well as the ladies' and men's Scottish amateur teams.

Add the Ladies' Scottish Open to that portfolio and Gilbert is clearly a man trying his best to not only give Scottish golfers a helping hand but also opportunities to show off their talents. It may not be of such importance as events like the Open Championship and the Ryder Cup but the future of the Northern Open, as well as the Scottish PGA Championship for that matter, is certainly dear to those with the interests of Scottish golf at heart.