Colin Montgomerie has presented a cheque for nearly £50,000 to boost Scottish junior golf. Around 800 guests including Sir Michael Bonallack, Gavin Hastings and Ronnie Corbett helped raise the money at a tribute dinner for the eight times European number one in Glasgow in January this year.
Most of the money – around £25,000 – will go towards the clubgolf programme through the Scottish Golf Union and the Golf Foundation and towards the SGU Junior Tour. The rest of the donations will go to golf scholarship programmes, including students at Stirling University.
clubgolf is funded by the Scottish Executive, which has committed £500,000 per year to the scheme through sportscotland until 2009.
Monty presented the cheque to SGU chief executive Hamish Grey at Loch Lomond on Wednesday. Mr Grey said the money would be a boon to both the clubgolf programme and to the SGU Junior Tour, which offers high-level competition for Scottish under-18 players.
Mr Grey said, “Colin is a fantastic ambassador for amateur golf in Scotland and his donation will be a valuable contribution towards two of our key goals, namely growing the game and developing talent.
“The clubgolf programme is vital to getting more youngsters playing the game and staying in the game, whilst the SGU Junior Tour is helping us to nurture some of the best young talent coming through our new coaching structures.”
Ken Schofield, president of the Golf Foundation and recent chief executive of the PGA European Tour also praised Monty for raising such a large sum of money for Scottish junior golf. “The Golf Foundation is grateful that there are high profile individuals such as Colin who share its passion for junior golf and its belief that investment at the grass roots level is essential for the long-term health of the sport. The money Colin has donated will be used by the Golf Foundation to support junior development programmes in schools, through community projects and at golf facilities across Scotland.”
Scottish Golf Union www.scottishgolfunion.org
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