Scotland’s presence with one of the premier events on the European Tour’s Challenge Tour will go on long after the Ryder Cup after a new four-year-extension for the Scottish Hydro Challenge was agreed.
The tournament, hosted by MacDonald Hotels and Resorts at Spey Valley in Aviemore for the sixth year starting today, will continue to get full backing from the hotel group and from EventScotland as part of the Ryder Cup legacy programme.
Scotland’s leading professional of the moment Stephen Gallacher will also become tournament ambassador for the event, which was inaugurated nine years ago as part of the overall deal that won Gleneagles the Ryder Cup.
However, the Scottish Hydro Challenge which has a record prize-fund of 250,000 euros (just over £200,000) this year is secure for long beyond the matches this September as part of the tour and government’s stated aim to maintain funding for golf even after the Ryder Cup is won.
This extension of support for golf post-Ryder Cup has been an important strand to the Scottish hosting of the matches as they were aware of the slump in support for golf in both Wales and Ireland after they hosted the matches in the last decade.
Gallacher, top ranked Scot at 37th in the world, is a Challenge Tour graduate himself and believes it is the perfect place for budding tour pros to start their careers.
“It is crucial for the game in Scotland to have an event on the schedule such as the Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts,” he said.
“When I began my career on the Challenge Tour I could only have dreamed of the kind of opportunities this tournament provides for our young players.
“That’s down to the support of Macdonald Hotels and Resorts, Scottish Hydro and EventScotland, who have all proven true patrons of golf in this country.
“I am delighted to do my bit in helping the growth of the tournament.
“I started the Stephen Gallacher Foundation, which is aimed at developing young junior golfers, a couple of years ago and I feel that being ‘tournament ambassador’ to this event helps us all keep sustaining the various platforms for golfers of every level to enjoy the game.”
Gallacher earlier this year opened the new £1 million clubhouse at Spey Valley, completing the investment in facilities from Macdonald Hotels in what operations director Ruaridh Macdonald described as “the jewel in our golfing crown”.
“This tournament has provided a real platform for the growth of this course and our stunning new clubhouse is a testament to that,” said Macdonald.
“We look forward to welcoming the future stars of golf to our world-class facilities for another four years.”
Wendy Barbour, director of sponsorship at Scottish Hydro, said the support of the tournament allowed the power company to back Scottish golf at all levels.
“Our support of the game in Scotland runs from development level, through our work with the Scottish Golf Union and the Stephen Gallacher Foundation, to our support of the professional players themselves through the Team Scottish Hydro Initiative. We look forward to another brilliant four years.”