Aberdeen Standard Investments want to maintain their association with the Scottish Open, the championship to go to Open courses on occasion and to split up the venues for the Men’s and Women’s versions again.
The current deal between the ASI, The Scottish Government and The European Tour, which started in 2012, ended with this week’s Covid-delayed Scottish at The Renaissance in East Lothian.
But while ASI chief executive and founder Martin Gilbert, the man most identified with the company’s presence sponsoring golf at all levels is retiring, he’s becoming a director of the European Tour and it seems the new management led by chairman Sir Douglas Flint, are keen to stay in the event.
“(Talks are) ongoing and we are hopeful,” said Flint, a former chairman of HSBC. “The sponsorship has been very good for us.
“As a business person you’ve got to be clear on the economics. When I was at HSBC the two sports we did were rugby and golf because they fitted with the demographic and values.
“The challenge is always: what are the other things you could do that might be better. I’ve had a long association with golf from HSBC and it was very effective.
“I think, candidly, that golf fits with a wealth business and a trust business. The values in golf are probably among the highest of any sport. It’s got a lot of really good credentials so I hope it will work.”
The likelihood is that the strategy to place both Men’s and Women’s Scottish Opens at the same venue four or five weeks apart will be dropped.
“We thought it would help economically, but but hasn’t really,” said Gilbert. “It’s not as clear-cut a benefit as we would have thought.
“If the ladies was before the men’s then it would be fine because it doesn’t need as much infrastructure. It was an economic decision that doesn’t really stack up.
“Ity’s also a big commitment to a club to host both. I think you could separate them; the Ladies Open deserves a venue of its own.”
Gilbert and the Tour has often asked the R&A about using Open venues for the Scottish and always been refused, but the outgoing chief executive would love to see the event at Troon and Carnoustie.
“I haven’t personally approached Martin Slumbers, but the tour say they have,” said Gilbert. “I was going to have another discussion with him.
“It would be fantastic. You would love to go to Carnoustie and St Andrews, though I don’t know if you’d ever get St Andrews. We’d also love to go back to the west coast as well at some stage. It’s finding a course of the right calibre.
“Once a deal is done to continue, we will have a look at venues. The tour have a big say, as does the Scottish Government. Jerry Sarvadi (of The Renaissance) would like us back – he says all the best tournaments in the world have a permanent venue!”
But Gilbert is most pleased the event was played at all this year, as at the original date in July it didn’t seem it would.
“It’s great that this tournament went ahead. For us, the important thing was the TV images that are going out around the world to 150 countries because we have clients in 80 countries.
“It was also really important that the ladies’ event went ahead this year and, as Tommy Fleetwood and Ian Poulter have been saying this week, it is so important for players to get the chance to play at the moment.”
