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• Craigmillar Park Open stalwart to step aside after 25 years
• Over the years, Bill Richardson has seen some of the top Scottish golfers
• The Open is the opening SGU Order of Merit event of the season

CRAIGMILLAR PARK GC

Craigmillar Park Open tournament director Bill Richardson is set to retire from his involvement with the competition after more than 25 years.

In that time, the Craigmillar Park GC member has seen many leading players take to the Edinburgh course for the prestigious amateur tournament, including Sir Nick Faldo and 2014 European Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher.

Bill started as a ball spotter way back in 1989 and has fulfilled many roles at the event over the years, before stepping into his current role of tournament director six years ago.

“Over the years, I’ve seen many of Scotland’s leading amateurs start their rounds” – Bill Richardson

Explaining his many jobs over the years, Bill said: “I started helping out as a ball spotter in 1989 and did a couple of years of that. The following year, my friend Nick Walton lost in a play-off and in 1991, I agreed to caddy for him when he returned and he went on to win.

“The next year, I took over as starter and over the years I’ve seen many of Scotland’s leading amateurs start their rounds, many of who have become professionals, including Stephen Gallacher, Marc Warren and Scott Jamieson.”

The Craigmillar Park Open began in 1961 and is recognised as one of the flagship events on the SGU amateur circuit, opening the Order of Merit season and always taking place on the weekend of the Masters (April 11-12 this year).

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With a handicap entry of two, the Open has never failed to attract elite amateurs from across the UK and Europe and Bill admits that the popularity of the event over the past couple of years has caused the handicap to be trimmed further.

He said: “Entry is limited to amateur golfers with a handicap of two or less although in the last few years we’ve had so many entering that we’ve had to decide the draw by ballot.

“The standard has been so high too that the ballot has been down to plus one, with the lowest handicap being plus five.”

With the Open taking place in April, the weather is rarely predictable and stresses have been put on Craigmillar Park GC in recent years as the event has failed to attract a main sponsor, something Bill would like to see changed.

He said: “A big challenge has got to be the weather. Over the years, we’ve had fog, rain, high winds and one Easter weekend we even had flurries of snow.

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“The greens staff here are excellent though and I must pay tribute to them for the work they put in to get the course in such good condition so early in the year.

“The main challenge though is cost. We have not been able to recruit a sponsor for the last couple of years, meaning all expenses are paid by the club. There is the opportunity for someone to attach their name to this tournament and receive the benefits that come with it, such as local and national press coverage and corporate days.”

Bill will be stepping aside in just over three weeks’ time, but already has a ready-made successor lined up. Fellow club member Stewart Downing will assume the role of tournament director and with some extra time on his hands, Bill intends to relax, play some more golf and, of course, attend future tournaments as a spectator.

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