Scottish Open without a sponsor as Barclays pulls plug

THE Scottish Open has been left searching for a new sponsor after banking giant Barclays ended its nine-year tie to the flagship golf tournament, blaming “market forces” for its decision.

The event, which relocated from Loch Lomond to Castle Stuart near Inverness this year, will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, and the European Tour has pledged that it will keep its prime July date in the week preceding The Open Championship on its 2012 schedule.

Barclays took over the title sponsorship of the Scottish Open in 2002 and in partnership with The European Tour turned it into one of Europe’s leading golf events, attracting the world’s best golfers to play in the event.

Argentina’s Eduardo Romero won the first Barclays Scottish Open title at Loch Lomond, and winners of the event since then have included Major winners Ernie Els, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell and Ryder Cup players Thomas Levet and Edoardo Molinari in addition to this year’s champion Luke Donald.

World No 1 Donald won the title at Castle Stuart with a closing 63 – the lowest round of his European Tour career – but the championship was plagued by desperate weather, which caused play to be abandoned on the Saturday after a series of landslides on the course.

George O’Grady, chief executive of the European Tour, said: “We thank Barclays for their vision and leadership. We respect and understand that their decision was based on market factors following a hugely successful partnership that has lasted almost a decade. The combination of a world-class title, prime date in the week immediately before The Open Championship and stunning location in Scotland – the Home of Golf – make this a particularly attractive proposition and we look forward to securing the future of the Scottish Open with a new sponsor.

“I would like to thank Barclays for its support of European golf and am delighted it will continue to sponsor The Barclays Singapore Open, a European and Asian Tour co-sanctioned event.”

Tim Peat, managing director of Barclays Capital, said: “Barclays has been proud to be the title sponsor of the Scottish Open for the last decade. We made our decision reluctantly based on current market factors.”

Shona Robison, Scotland’s Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, said: “The Scottish Open has always been one of the most iconic and visually stunning tournaments on the European Tour schedule, and Barclays’ sponsorship has been instrumental in growing this event in recent years. In Scotland we look forward to the continued growth of this world-class tournament, working with the European Tour and a new sponsor to continue to build on the success of the Scottish Open for the future.”