MY VIEWS UNWELCOME IN SCOTLAND - PGA CHIEF SANDY JONES

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE

By MARTIN DEMPSTER

Sandy Jones, the chief executive of the PGA, has said he feels his opinions on Scottish golf are unwelcome in certain quarters and claimed the skills within his organisation are not being utilised in a joint-venture with the game's amateur governing body.

Jones, who cut his teeth in Scotland before moving to The Belfry, has been critical of the Scottish Golf Union in recent years for not giving the PGA a louder voice in the bid to help the country's leading amateurs make a smoother transition into the paid ranks.
He saw it as a step forward when Alan White, chairman of the PGA Scottish Region, got a seat alongside representatives of the SGU, SLGA and Sport Scotland on the board of Scottish Golf Support Limited, the body set up to hand out £1 million of government money over a five-year period to help rookie professionals.

But, in addition to feeling White is encountering difficulties in trying to make his voice heard around that table, Jones said he found it hurtful that his personal input into anything to do with the Scottish game seemed to be disregarded north of the Border.

"I'm passionate about Scotland - that's where I came from and where I'd like to go back to some day. My brief is much wider nowadays. But, as regards the Scottish issue, I sometimes wonder if I should be concentrating on it," he said. "I get the feeling that I'm not particularly welcomed. My intrusions are not welcomed. It's frustrating. It's almost a sadness for me. I get quite hurt (by not being welcomed] when you think maybe I could offer something."

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