Overlap of our showpiece events can’t happen again

COMPARED to England, the tournament golf scene at the highest level in Scotland at the moment is pretty healthy, partly, of course, due to a commitment that had to be made around the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

Yet it seemed a ludicrous situation last week when we had two events – the Aberdeen Ladies’ Scottish Open at Archerfield Links and the Cleveland Srixon Scottish Seniors Open at Fairmont St Andrews – taking place at the same time. It was the second year running that had happened and, on this occasion, they had a two-day clash as opposed to just the one 12 months ago.

Thankfully, we won’t be seeing these two events crossing over at all for the third year in a row. The Ladies’ Scottish Open is moving to a slot earlier in the season, believed to be the first week in May, next year, when lots of sporting calendars will take on a different look due to the London Olympics.

“It has been an unfortunate clash with these events and we acknowledged that last year,” said Robbie Clyde, of EventScotland. “All the parties – Archerfield, Aberdeen Asset Management, the Ladies’ European Tour and the European Seniors Tour – worked hard to find an alternative date this year, but it wasn’t possible.

“We are victims of our own success in Scotland because it is a full schedule and, though we tried everything we could to resolve it, we could not find a date to suit all parties. However, the Ladies’ Scottish Open will be held earlier next year, though the date has still to be confirmed by the LET.”

It has to be hoped the move becomes permanent because there seems little doubt it would prove beneficial for an event that has found an excellent new home in East Lothian but, at the same time, is not proving nearly as big an attraction as it should in its current slot. Perhaps that is partly because of its pro-am format.

WSM, promoters of the event, have done an excellent job breathing new life back into the event after it had fallen off the LET schedule. But, unlike the Dunhill Links on the men’s European Tour, the Ladies’ Scottish Open over the last two years has only featured a handful of celebrities and Tom Younger, the chief executive at Archerfield Links, admits that is one of the things he’d like to see addressed going forward.

“It was important in the first place to get the Ladies’ Scottish Open back on the schedule and we are delighted with how the first two events here have gone,” he noted.

“We are trying to build it up into a Dunhill Links-style event and we’ve already had Alan Hansen, Jodie Kidd and the Hastings brothers playing in it. We are committed to the event on a year-by-year basis, but we enjoy the relationship that has been created with Aberdeen Asset Management, WSM and EventScotland. We are all committed to making this event something special. We want the event to go from strength to strength and we would certainly like to get bigger crowds.”

What a shame there weren’t more people there on Friday and, in particular, Saturday as Catriona Matthew showed yet again what a terrific servant she’s been for Scottish golf over the past 20 years. The North Berwick woman was a class apart in the final two rounds and the way she not only plays the game but handles herself on the golf course is a reason alone why more Scottish golf fans should make a point of paying a visit to Archerfield next May.

“We are really committed to women’s golf, both with the Ladies’ Scottish Open and the British Women’s Open, which is being staged in Scotland five times in a nine-year period,” added Clyde. “With the Ladies’ Scottish Open, we are building the event year on year.

“In the late 90s and early 2000s, we lost the people who were used to seeing women’s professional events in Scotland and we now need to try and get them back.

“By staging the Scottish Ladies’ Open earlier in the year, it will give us a chance to build a bit of impetus.”