14 October 2008

PRESS RELEASE 

(Issued on behalf of the Mathon Scottish Junior Golf Tour)

SCOTLAND’S FIRST UNDER 14 JUNIOR GOLF TOUR LAUNCHED 

Scotland’s first under-14 junior golf tour was launched in St Andrews today (Tuesday) with the aim of nurturing young Scottish talent and providing a platform for promising golfers to successfully compete on a wider stage.

Supported by Alastair Forsyth and Marc Warren and spearheaded by former Italian Open champion Dean Robertson, the Mathon Scottish Junior Golf Tour is targeting talented young golfers between the ages of 9 and 14 and will travel round Scotland providing coaching sessions and fun skill development days alongside stroke play competitions.

30 youngsters are already taking part and courses committed to the tour include Carnoustie, Turnberry, Dalmahoy and The Dukes and Strathtyrum in St Andrews.

Alongside fellow coaches Steven Orr and Kendal McWade, Dean Robertson i looking forward to working closely with the 16 Scottish Golf Union areas, local clubs and other coaches to identify young golfers who will benefit from being part of the Mathon Scottish Junior Golf Tour.

Speaking at the start of a two-day stroke play competition in St Andrews today,  Dean Robertson said, “It’s fantastic that the tour is underway and proving such a success already.  We are aiming to nurture the best young golfers in Scotland, to provide them with the best environment to develop their talent and to build their self-confidence.

“Our vision is for Scotland to once again be the number one golfing nation in the world and we believe this tour is an essential part of the jigsaw to make that happen. Unlike most other sports, golf seemed to be the only sport that did not have competitions for different age groups and there were no opportunities outside of summer for boys under 14 years of age.

“The Mathon Junior Golf Tour addresses these issues and provides an effective stepping stone onto the next level.   

“We are looking forward to working with the SGU, local clubs, coaches and other tournaments right across Scotland to identify young golfers whom we believe will benefit most from being part of the tour. 

Alastair Forsyth, speaking in support of the Mathon Scottish Junior Golf Tour, said, “This is a great initiative and I wish the Mathon Scottish Junior Golf Tour the best of luck. It is really important to encourage kids to have fun playing golf and to reach their full potential. I wish the Junior Golf Tour existed when I was that age!”

Andrew Sobolewski, CEO of title sponsor Mathon, said: “We are delighted that the Mathon Scottish Junior Golf Tour is already proving to be such a success.  As the home of golf, Scotland needs to provide its young golfers with every possible opportunity to succeed on the world stage and we are delighted to be part of that process.

“We have committed to the tour for the next three years and look forward to working with Dean and his team to develop grassroots golf in Scotland and to ensure the long-term success of the tour.”

James Wilson, aged 12 from Mongavie and the current Scottish Boys Under-12 Champion, said, "I have had a huge amount of fun since I joined the Tour - we get to play these fantastic courses all over Scotland and I have made lots of new friends. The skills days are great too - we play games that help us learn new ways of making the golf ball do what we want to do. It's really cool!"

Further information on the Mathon Junior Golf Tour can be found at www.scottishjuniorgolftour.co.uk

ENDS 

For further information, please contact: 

Mathon SJGT                                     Mathon 

Dean Robertson                               Jack Irvine, Executive Chairman

T: 07766 072888                 Media House

                                                                T: 0141 220 6040

                                                                M: 07860 457456