SECOND MONTY'S MONTHLY MEDAL LAUNCHED AT GLENEAGLES

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
Club golfers across Scotland are being given the dream opportunity to play with Colin Montgomerie with the launch today of the second Monty’s Monthly Medal event to raise funds for the building of a new Maggie’s Centre in Lanarkshire.
The Scottish Golf Union and Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association are once again joining forces to stage the event in support of the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation, the charity set up by the eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner as a legacy to his late mother, who sadly died of cancer 21 years ago.
Last year’s Monty’s Monthly Medal final saw 60 club golfers from across Scotland play with the victorious Ryder Cup captain in the final at The Carrick, described as a ‘truly memorable experience’ by those who took part, helping to raise thousands of pounds for the development of Maggie’s Centres in Aberdeen and Lanarkshire.
Every affiliated SGU and SLGA golf club in Scotland will be invited to take part by running a qualifying competition alongside an existing medal stroke-play event on their fixture list, open from March through to Sunday 22 July. Entry to the qualifying competition is just £3, with the leading 72 players, based on their net medal scores, winning a place alongside Monty in the final, which will take place on Monday, August 20 at a leading Scottish venue.
Inverness golfer Alistair Henry was the inaugural victor of the event in 2011 and Montgomerie is looking forward to growing the competition and increasing participation numbers this season.
Speaking at the Gleneagles launch, the highly-respected Scot said: “It was great to have so many golfers and golf clubs supporting the event last year, from as far north as Inverness down to Dumfries in the south of the country.
“The feedback I got from the players who took part in the final was fantastic. I really enjoyed meeting all the competitors and they’ve all gone back to their clubs to promote the event so hopefully we can get many more clubs and golfers involved this time around.”
“The cause is obviously one which is very close to my heart, but one which affects so many people in Scotland. We want to ensure as much support as possible for those suffering from cancer, and their families, so I’m sure the golfing community will help us towards our fund-raising goals.” added Montgomerie.
Proceeds from this year’s SGU and SLGA supported event will go towards the Maggie’s Centre project in Lanarkshire, which is just £200,000 short of its overall target.
Hamish Grey, Chief Executive for the Scottish Golf Union, said: “We had a great response from clubs for the first staging of Monty’s Monthly Medal last season, but we would encourage as many clubs as possible to take part this year.
“We are very proud to support such a fantastic cause, with the great incentive of playing with Colin as a reward for the finalists. We’ve changed the format slightly this year to make it easier for clubs to host a qualifying competition, starting from now through to the end of July and hopefully we can grow the event year on year.”
Details of how clubs can take part are available on the SGU’s website at www.scottishgolf.org or clubs can contact the SGU Events Department on 01334 466477 to find out more, while qualifying competition packs will be mailed out to all clubs.
+Colin Montgomerie is pictured at Gleneagles with Lauren Bryden and Lynsey Knowles of the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation (Image by courtesy of Andy Forman).