Funding boost announced for Scottish golf

Matthew is the current British Open champion

Scottish golfing prospects are to benefit from a £1m funding package to help them make the transition from amateur to professional.

The money from sportscotland covers a five year period and will provide coaching, training and sports science.

There will also be opportunities to attend warm weather training camps in the off-season and, in some cases, meet the underwriting of playing costs.

A further £1m will be ploughed into the strategic development of Scottish golf.

Currently, Scotland has just one professional player in the men's world top 100 - with US-based Martin Laird at 95th.

Catriona Matthew MBE, the reigning women's British Open champion, who attended the launch of this new initiative, is 16th on the list of top 50 players.

Announcing the funding from the Scottish Government and National Lottery resources, First Minister Alex Salmond said: "As Scotland gears up to stage five Women's British Open championships over the next decade and host the Ryder Cup in 2014, this investment puts us in a great position to attract more professional players to the game.

"It will also build on the success of clubgolf, our national junior programme, which has introduced golf to record numbers of children in Scotland - almost 40,000 primary five pupils last year.

"We aim to give every child in Scotland access to our national game. This excellent package of support at every level puts us well on the way to re-establishing Scotland as the world's greatest golfing nation."

To manage the new investment for amateurs, an independent company will be established. The board will be chaired by former R&A captain Graeme Simmers OBE and supported by a board of advisors, including former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher.