Driving home a decade of support

VisitScotland is marking a decade of support of one of the premier events on the European Challenge Tour – the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels & Resorts.

The national tourism organisation has supported the event since 2006 - with a current commitment through to 2018 - and funding support this year of £125,000.

The event, which takes place at Spey Valley Golf Club, Aviemore from 25-28 June, is shown worldwide by 35 broadcasters, screening a total of 216 hours of coverage. This delivers almost £1m of direct marketing benefit.

The SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge has previously been played at three venues: Murcar Links (2006), Cardrona (2007 and 2008) and Spey Valley (2009-2015).

Drawing players from across the globe, the event is a great way of showcasing golf in the region and supporting it is a key part of Scotland’s Ryder Cup legacy programme, to build and deliver a strong portfolio of domestic golf events.

The event also helps support the development of Scottish golf by providing the opportunity for the next wave of Scottish touring professionals to advance to the next stage in their careers. Richie Ramsay, Scott Jamieson and Scott Henry are just three players who have previously used the event as a springboard to future success on the European Tour, an opportunity they wouldn’t have had if it weren’t for the inception of the event as part of the Ryder Cup legacy programme.

In addition, the tournament gives Scottish golfing fans the chance to get up close and personal with some of the game’s most promising up-and-coming stars.

Ryder Cup star and Scotland’s highest-ranked male golfer, Stephen Gallacher, is a tournament ambassador of the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge, while Edoardo Molinari, Nicolas Colsaerts, Matteo Mannassero, Brooks Koepka and Peter Uihlein have all played in the event in previous years. Brooks Koepka’s victory in the 2013 event propelled him onto the main European Tour and he has subsequently gone on to break into the world’s top 25 and become a PGA Tour winner.

Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland, said:
“The SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge at Spey Valley Golf Club draws players from all over the world and helps to promote golf tourism in the region to a wider audience. This leads to the generation of valuable income to the local visitor economy in the Highlands, with accommodation providers, transport operators, food and drink suppliers, visitor attractions, restaurants, shops and more all benefiting.

“The fact that the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge has a direct marketing benefit of £1m is immense for this region, and indeed for Scotland. It shows the rest of the world that we can successfully host golf events of any scale and showcase this beautiful country globally.

“As we saw during the Ryder Cup in 2014, golf captured the imagination of people throughout the country. Golf tourism is worth £220m to the country annually, and hosting fantastic events like the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge here in Aviemore, only enhances further Scotland’s reputation as the Home of Golf.”

There will be on-site activities at Spey Valley Golf Club over the tournament weekend, to provide interest and enjoyment for all the family.

To get the balance right between golf and non-golf, there will be two different areas. In the Junior Golf Zone (next to the clubhouse), there will be a long putt challenge and chipping target net and in the Spey Valley Golf Club activity area (below the marquee), there will be water walkers, water paddlers, circus skills and face painting.

Every year, VisitScotland transfers the Pro-Am it receives for being a major funder, over to ClubGolf, Scotland’s junior golf initiative and another legacy of The 2014 Ryder Cup, so it can be used to thank its army of volunteers who give up their time to support the programme. Entry to the tournament is free and is a great way to watch the next generation of golfing superstars up close.

For more information about the event, visit http://www.europeantour.com/challengetour/