Catriona Matthew given Scottish Golf role

• Catriona Matthew to help guide leading Scottish amateurs
• Has been appointed to the Scottish Golf performance committee
• Joins former Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart in the role

Catriona Matthew is to lend her expertise to help guide the nation’s leading amateurs as part of Scottish Golf’s new-look performance team.

The nation’s most successful female golfer will join former Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart on the performance committee as the new amalgamated governing body looks to tap into the knowledge and insight of two of the country’s most experienced professionals.

While a nomination process is underway for candidates to join the committee, ex-Ricoh Women’s British Open champion Matthew has agreed to offer her support.

Matthew said: “I look forward to assisting the Scottish Golf performance committee going forward and doing all I can to help, fitting in the role alongside my full-time golf commitments.”

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Karyn Dallas and Clare Queen, both former Ladies European Tour professionals, are also part of the new performance team at regional and national level as Scottish Golf looks to improve standards within the amateur game, notably among female players.

Non-executive director Stephen Docherty will oversee the performance committee, having recently been appointed to Scottish Golf’s new board on a two-year term.

Matthew joined Coltart in Edinburgh yesterday to help promote the 2016 Scottish Golf Awards, with the eight-time Solheim Cup member to be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement accolade in March.

“I’m pleased to announce that Catriona has agreed to join us” – Stephen Docherty

Docherty, who previously served on the Scottish Golf Union (SGU) board, said: “Although we are still looking for expertise on the Scottish Golf performance committee, I’m pleased to announce that Catriona has agreed to join us.

“She brings valuable knowledge and experience to our programmes, along with Andrew Coltart, who has been involved in a SGU capacity over the last three years. While our male amateurs have performed consistently well in recent years, the women have gone through a more challenging time and we need to focus on supporting our best female players to compete at the top of the amateur game.”

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With the Scottish Golf performance committee to be finalised after nominations close on January 8, performance director Steve Paulding is excited by the changes.

Paulding added: “There are great opportunities for the new amalgamated body as we look to build on the work already achieved with our programmes.

“We have just held our first joint winter training camp in the UAE, which gave our leading female players the chance to develop their games, with Hannah McCook already benefiting after finishing runner-up in the Argentine Women’s Amateur on Saturday.

“We need the whole of golf to be in a healthy position to give us the best chances of success at the top end of amateur golf, so the strength of our clubs and the number of youngsters coming into the game is important to us. It’s vital the whole of Scottish Golf work together to succeed, and having Catriona Matthew to help in that process can only be beneficial to us.”

Catriona Matthew :: Scottish Golf role

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