Golf: Greig Hutcheon calls for more from pros

GREIG Hutcheon, the former Scottish PGA champion, believes Scotland's pros could be doing more to bolster the profile of the Tartan Tour.

The domestic circuit's lifeblood is the 60-plus Pro-Am contests that are held throughout the country and Aberdonian Hutcheon, 36, is urging players to help strengthen the ties between the tour and the host clubs during a challenging period for the SPGA in terms of sponsorship and prize money.

"We have a good product in Scotland but, in these tough financial times, it's important to sell the tour," said Hutcheon, a three-time winner on the European Challenge Tour and the Scottish No 1 in 2006 and 2007.

"We go to all these clubs during the season and we could be doing more when we are there as a kind of payback.

"We could set up a rota where one or two players at each venue throughout the year does a clinic with junior members. It would be an added benefit to the day and could help raise the profile of Scotland's pros among young golfers.

"A decade ago we had 80 to 90 Pro-Ams a season. That number has dropped but we still have some great players here and it's important to work to try and get the tour back to what it was."

Hutcheon has spent the last two seasons competing on the Challenge Tour but with his wife, Gillian, expecting their first child next month, the 1999 national champion will be focusing on the Scottish circuit again this year.