R&A ANNOUNCES GRANTS
IN EXCESS OF £1 MILLION
Including £7,500 to Paul
Lawrie Junior
Programme

The R&A has announced a series of grants, amounting to more than £1million, aimed at supporting the development of golf around the world.
Eastern Europe, Bulgaria and Poland will receive coaching grants for the first time to support their junior grassroots activities.
Further afield, international amateur team championships being played in Canada, Guatemala and South Africa will also receive R&A funding for the first time.
Duncan Weir, pictured left, the R&A’s Director of Golf Development, said: “We are fortunate that the annual surplus from the Open championship enables us to distribute funds widely and it is therefore appropriate that the junior programmes run by Nick Faldo and Paul Lawrie, both Open champions, are included in this latest list of awards.” As Mr Weir told Mike Aitken of "The Scotsman:"
"We want to help others grow the game in any way we possibly can. Our aim is simple: to encourage more people in more places to play golf more often.
"Let's be clear here, though. Our role is to offer support to others rather than to start projects of our own. People on the ground, who know the local scene, are in the best position to come to up with initiatives. And if we can help in any way, we will.
"Many of the awards we make come as a result of approaches made by federations and other organisations. We are committed to consider every funding request, no matter how small.
"We are fortunate that the annual surplus from the Open championship enables us to distribute funds widely and it is therefore appropriate that the junior programmes run by Nick Faldo and Paul Lawrie, both Open champions, are included in this latest list of awards."
In its most recent accounts for 2005, the R&A reported a profit of £9.1million and spent £3.7million developing the game.

R&A GRANTS
Arab Golf Federation
£5,000 towards 2006 Pan Arab Junior Championship in Morocco
Barbados Golf Association
£55,000 towards public driving range
Brazilian Golf Confederation
£5,000 towards 2007 South American Junior Team Championship
Bulgarian Golf Association
£10,000 towards junior development activities
Copa los Americas
£20,000 towards 2007 event in Canada
European Golf Association
£20,000 towards 2007 European Young Masters in France
Faldo Series
£25,000 towards existing European programme and £85,000 towards expanding Asian series
Golf Foundation
£600,000 towards junior development activities in England, Scotland and Wales
Guatemala Golf Federation
£5,000 towards 2007 Central American Amateur Team Championship
Hong Kong Golf Association
£12,500 towards 2007 Asia-Pacific Junior Team Championship
Junior Golf Ireland
£60,000 towards junior development activities
Keilir Golf Club, Iceland
£30,000 towards covered driving range and indoor short game facility
Kenya Ladies’ Golf Union
£10,000 towards 2007 triangular international with Zambia and Zimbabwe
Namibia Golf Federation
£12,000 towards 2007 African Amateur Team Championship
Palmer Cup
£5,000 towards 2007 Europe v USA student match
Paul Lawrie Junior Golf Programme
£7,500 towards 2007 activities
Polish Golf Union
£20,000 towards junior development activities
Putra Cup
£5,000 towards 2006 event in Papua New Guinea involving countries in south-east Asia
Queen Sirikit Cup
£15,000 towards 2007 women’s event in the Philippines involving Asia-Pacific countries
St Andrews Links Junior Golf Association
£12,500 in 2007 towards ongoing junior programme
South African Golf Development Board
£10,000 towards junior development activities
Tanzania Golf Union
£6,000 towards 2006 East African Challenge also involving Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda
Tour de las Americas
£20,000 in 2007 towards professional golf tour
Uganda Golf Union
£28,000 towards 2007 Zone VI event involving countries from southern and eastern Africa
Women’s Golf South Africa
£5,000 towards 2007 Commonwealth Team Tournament
Zimbabwe Junior Golf Association
£10,000 towards 2007 Africa Junior Challenge

**£150,000 will be spent on the purchase and distribution of reconditioned greenkeeping machinery. In 2006, equipment was sent to Ghana, Iceland, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

**1,000 sets of TaylorMade Kids’ Clubs will be distributed overseas. This follows a similar number sent in 2006 to Botswana, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Honduras, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Malta, Poland, Rwanda, Slovenia, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey and Zimbabwe.