Scottish Senior Open partners with East Lothian Foodbank

East Lothian Foodbank, part of a UK network dedicated to alleviating food poverty and hunger in the local communities, has been named as the official charity of the Scottish Senior Open.

Based in Tranent, less than seven miles from host venue Craigielaw Golf Club, the East Lothian Foodbank was set up in direct response to local need and opened its doors in October 2012.

It fed a total of 4,409 people in the East Lothian area during the 12 months from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

In one month alone recently, 176 three-day emergency food parcels were distributed – a total of 3,428kg of food – feeding 346 people of whom one-third were children.

• Iconic Scottish course set to re-open this month

• Time running out to vote for Scotland’s Best Golf Experience 2018

Peter Dicker, manager of the East Lothian Foodbank, said: “We are excited to become the official charity of the Scottish Senior Open at Craigielaw Golf Club. Our objective is the relief of poverty in the East Lothian Community and every pound collected is precious in our mission to help people experiencing severe hunger.”

David MacLaren, Head of the Staysure Tour, added: “We are honoured to join forces with East Lothian Foodbank to help in a small way to try to break the cycle of poverty. 

“This is the fourth successive year in which we have staged the Scottish Senior Open in the beautiful county of East Lothian and we are delighted to have this opportunity for the power of sport to tackle the issue of extreme hunger within the local community.”

• Is world No.1 Dustin Johnson a ‘major’ under-performer? The numbers suggest so…

• US PGA champ Koepka driven by ‘haters’

One of the longest-running events on the Staysure Tour – formerly the European Senior Tour – the 2018 Scottish Senior Open takes place this year from September 14-16. Admission is free on all three days. 

Last year’s championship was won by England’s Paul Broadhurst, who beat Australia’s Mike Harwood to the title by three shots at The Renaissance Club.