Rising star Booth signs with IMG

Ladies’ European Tour ace Carly joins top management company

Teenage protégée Carly Booth has signed up with leading global sports management company, IMG.

Also confirmed are three new corporate partners for Carly who, along with IMG, are backing Carly to make a big impact on the women’s Tour; Gleneagles, home of the 2014 Ryder Cup, Lomond Audi and Aberdeen Asset Management. The new partnerships will give Carly the vital support needed for a player to launch their professional career. She will sport Aberdeen Asset Management branding on her golf bag while Gleneagles will provide world class facilities for Carly to practise on when she is not on Tour. Lomond Audi have supplied 18-year-old Carly, who recently passed her driving test, with an Audi A3. Carly is also sponsored by Nike.

Carly, who recently secured her full LET Tour card at Qualifying School, enjoyed an amateur career richly laced with records and accolades and golf’s aficionados are eagerly anticipating similar success for Carly on the professional tour.

She was the youngest ladies’ club champion in Britain at the age of 11 at Dunblane New and at 14, she finished 13^th in her first professional event, the Ladies Scottish Open. She topped the European Junior rankings in 2007 after winning the European Junior Masters and the Scottish Under-18 and Under-21 titles. In 2008, she became the youngest player to represent Great Britain & Ireland in the 76-year history of the Curtis Cup and won the Daily Telegraph Finals in both 2007 and 2008. She is also the youngest  Scot to qualify for the Ladies European Tour (LET).

There are many on-course parallels to the most famous of teenage golf stars, Michelle Wie, also an IMG client, and Carly is following in her example on the academic front too. Carly sat her A levels in June at Glenalmond School, where she was on a golf scholarship. Up until then she played a limited schedule, before heading out on the Tour full-time.

Carly commented, “I am very excited to be joining IMG. They are the best in the business and manage so many of the world’s best players that I admire. I am delighted to have four such prestigious corporate partners back me even before I have proved myself out on the professional tour and it gives me a real confidence boost to be managed by a Company with such a strong track record. Their support gives me the freedom to concentrate entirely on playing good golf and I hope I can justify their faith in me with a win soon.”

Guy Kinnings, IMG’s Director of Golf, EAME, said, “Carly has had a phenomenal amateur career and with her ability and personality she really stands out as one of the most exciting rookies on the LET Tour this year. IMG represent a exciting group of talented teenagers who have already proven themselves on the course and we believe Carly will fit in well.”

Derek Clelland, Sales & Marketing Director of Lomond Audi Group commented: “Lomond Audi are delighted to help support Carly as we believe she has the already demonstrated the potential to be one of the future greats of ladies golf. At Lomond Audi we have been involved in golf sponsorship for several years and view our relationship with Carly as an exciting addition to this. It is not too often you have the opportunity to support a young Scottish sporting professional with such great natural talent.”

Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen Asset Management said “We are very proud to align our brand with this ambitious young golfer. At Aberdeen we are firm believers in supporting golf at all levels of the game, from amateur and grassroots levels, all the way through to the professional players.”

She will be managed by Vicky Cuming, who also looks after fellow Scots Sam Torrance and Catriona Matthew.  She added, “Carly has outstanding potential which has been evident since a very young age. I am excited to be working with Carly and her family as I believe she’s one of the most talented young Scottish golfers to turn professional in recent years.  In my opinion she is uniquely positioned to develop into one of the leading forces in women’s golf in coming years, both on and off the course. The fact that Aberdeen Asset Management, Lomond Audi, The Gleneagles Hotel and Nike have already partnered with her bears testament to this.”

Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered