Scottish Golf and PGA “must work together” to capitalise on 2019

The Director of Events at VisitScotland has called upon Scottish Golf and the PGA in Scotland to work closely together to capitalise on the opportunity afforded by the country staging the 2019 Solheim Cup.

Speaking earlier today to bunkered.co.uk at Des Moines Golf & Country Club, host venue for this year’s match, Paul Bush said that it was of ‘fundamental’ importance that the two organisations work in partnership to help leave a long-lasting and tangible legacy from the 2019 event at Gleneagles.

That includes increasing the female participation rate in Scotland. Currently, women account for approximately 15% of all golfers in the home of golf. Where some see an issue – and legitimately so – Bush sees an opportunity… but one that he insists can only be seized if Scottish Golf and the PGA work together.

“If they don’t do it, they’ll have missed an opportunity,” said Bush. “We’re very strong on that. We converted well – very well, in fact – at the 2014 Ryder Cup but there are areas where we could have converted better.

If they don’t work together, they certainly won’t achieve it.

“With 2019, we’ve got a bit of a blank canvas. I think that, for Scottish Golf and the PGA, this is a really massive opportunity and they’ve got two years to seize it. 

“It’s not our job to do it for them. We’re providing the platform and the landscape. They’ve got to really think carefully how best to make the most of that over the next two years and if they don’t work together, they certainly won’t achieve it.”

The 2019 Solheim Cup will be the third time that the match has been staged in Scotland, following Dalmahoy in 1992 and Loch Lomond in 2000.

This year’s contest gets underway tomorrow morning.