Scotland’s Catriona Matthew, Richie Ramsay and Michele Thomson will all compete for Great Britain at the inaugural European Golf Team Championships at Gleneagles next month.
Both male and female professional will compete in a revolutionary mixed team format as well as Men’s and Women’s Team events, as part of the innovative multi-sport Glasgow 2018 European Championships.
Great Britain will have a maximum six teams of two headed by four-time Major winner Dame Laura Davies, fresh off her weekend victory in the US Senior Women’s Open.
She will play with Solheim Cup star Georgia Hall, while 2019 Solheim Cup European Team Captain Catriona Matthew will play on the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles – the venue for the Solheim next year – when she lines up alongside England’s Holly Clyburn for the second GB team.
Thomson, the LET pro from Aberdeen, has been paired with England’s Meghan MacLaren.
In the Men’s Championship, Ramsay will play Englishman Ryan Evans, while Michael Hoey will represent Ireland alongside Neil O’Briain looking to follow up on his last victory in Scotland at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2011.
The event takes place from August -12 and features a 50/50 gender split and equal prize money.
Players will represent their countries with 16 teams of two players competing in the Men’s and Women’s Team events, before combining to form teams of four (two men and two women) in the Mixed Team Championship.
Matthew, who won the Women’s British Open in 2009 and represented Team GB in the 2016 Rio Olympics, said: “It’s always exciting to represent your country. I loved the Olympics, and this is another chance to represent Great Britain on the international stage, this time being a team format.
“Obviously, it will be interesting to play the course under competitive conditions. I know we have had a lot of dry weather recently, but the Centenary course has a great irrigation system, so it is still pretty green and from what I hear the greens are relatively receptive.
“It will be interesting to see what playing order and holes favour different types of strategy, as we are playing both fourball and foursome formats. Obviously I will be keeping an eye on results and both teams and individuals that play well.”
