SCOTTISH HYDRO CHALLENGE WINNER TO EARN PLACE

 IN JOHNNIE WALKER CHAMPIONSHIP AT GLENEAGLES

NEWS RELEASE
The winner of this week’s Scottish Hydro Challenge will receive an invitation to the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in August.
In what is a huge coup for the European Challenge Tour event taking place at the Macdonald Spey Valley Golf Club this week, the winner of the €200,000 tournament in the highlands will also book a place alongside many of The European Tour’s biggest stars at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles from August 26-29.
Both tournaments are part of Scotland’s hugely impressive golfing portfolio this summer, with seven professional events, including the 150th Anniversary Open Championship at St Andrews, taking place in the country between this week and the end of August.
EventScotland, the lead agency for the delivery of The 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, have played a key role in the agreement between the Scottish Hydro Challenge and the Johnnie Walker Championship.
There will be extra focus at Gleneagles this year as it is where Colin Montgomerie will reveal his three Captains Picks to join the nine automatic qualifiers in his Ryder Cup Team to face the USA in Wales in October.
Tournament organisers, including Montgomerie who is the Championship Chairman to the Johnnie Walker tournament, are expecting an excellent field in August at the last opportunity to qualify for Europe’s 2010 Team.
With the agreement between the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and EventScotland now in place, whoever lifts the Scottish Hydro Challenge on Sunday will get to sample that rarefied environment and have the opportunity to test themselves at the highest level.
Graeme Marchbank, Tournament Director of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and Head of Corporate Sponsorship at Diageo, said: “We are very proud to support golf in Scotland and what better way to show that support than to have the winner of the Scottish Hydro Challenge appear in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. As we all work towards The Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in 2014, opportunities such as this bring to life the shared journey Scotland is on.
“We believe that the winner of the Scottish Hydro Challenge will be taking his place amongst a truly world class field at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles as Colin finalises his Ryder Cup Team to face the USA in October.”
Robbie Clyde, Ryder Cup Project Director at EventScotland, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to support one of the Challenge Tour’s rising stars, so that they can really test themselves against the very best in Europe at such a high-profile European Tour event. We are grateful to the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles for helping to make this happen, it really demonstrates how closely together we are all working in Scotland, across all golf tournaments, to support the game in the run up to The 2014 Ryder Cup.”