Inverness urging Scottish Open visitors to sign up
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Gordon Scott
SCOTTISH Open visitors are being urged to sign up to play the Inverness Four Day Open in a bid to fill up vacant slots.
The annual city event is traditionally over-subscribed but still has places available possibly due to the conflict with the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.
Competitors will take to the course in Culcabock from 4th to 7th July with the matchplay semi-finals and final played on the same day as the four-day Scottish Open starts.
“It’s a great thing for golf in the Highlands,” said Gordon Scott, event secretary of the Four Day Open, which is sponsored by Ness Motors and The Inverness Courier.
“There are plenty of golf courses up here that we know are fantastic and this helps put them on the map because there will be a lot of visitors.
“I hope for our individual event we will get late entries from people who are coming up to watch the golf and might enter the Four Day to play some golf while they are here.”
The club sent posters advertising the event to every course in Scotland before the announcement about the Scottish Open was made.
“We have got quite a few people coming from around the country already,” Scott commented. “It gives people an opportunity to participate in a good quality event before watching a good quality event.”
Defending champion Bryan Fotheringham is among the 140 already signed up, but 34 spaces are still available. There were nine openings in the three-ball team event on Friday 8th July, which accepts a maximum of 80 teams, until the weekend but this is now understood to be full despite clashing with day two of the Scottish Open.
“There is no doubt some people are missing the team event to go to the Scottish Open, including one of my own playing partners!” said Scott, who is putting some makeshift teams together ahead of the draw this Friday3rd June.
He remains optimistic the schedule will be full and encouraged any golf fans coming to the city who wanted to whet their appetite for spectating to visit the event, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary.
“We would welcome anyone,” Scott said. “We have no problem with spectators as long as they respect the golfers who are out on the course and are there to watch, rather than interfere.”
The club has not been working with Castle Stuart to promote the Four Day Open but Scott did discuss it with the course’s sales and marketing director Fraser Cromarty.
“We had a brief chat about the fact that they clashed but I told him we were just going to continue and not let it worry us and if it did affect our entries we would just take it on the chin this year because we weren’t for changing,” Scott added.
“For 34 years it has started on the first Monday in July because that’s the start of the Trades Fortnight and that’s when it will always be — it will never change.”
* Late entries for the Inverness Four Day Open will be accepted by using the application form on the club’s website: www.invernessgolfclub.co.uk or by contacting Gordon Scott on: 07831 821663.
