Elgin pro Stables predicts Moray boost from Barclays Scottish Open
South African Major winners Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthizen are confirmed entries for the Barclays Scottish Open.
FORMER European Tour golfer Kevin Stables believes Moray is poised to receive a golfing, tourism and economic boost from the Barclays Scottish Open.
The Elgin professional rubbed shoulders with a young Tiger Woods when he made his last appearance in the Scottish Open at Carnoustie in 1995, when Australian Wayne Riley won the title.
Stables will be an avid spectator at Castle Stuart in July when some of the top names in world golf come to the Moray Firth links course.
This week ,Major Champions Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel were the latest to confirm they will tee up at the event from July 7-10.
Stables is excited at the prospect of seeing top golfers compete in the event and he also believes that golf clubs around the Moray Firth and the wider economy will get a major shot in the arm from the event, which will be played at Castle Stuart over the next three years.
"They reckon there will be 80,000 visitors to the event and a TV audience of several million.
"The European Tour reckons areas within a 50-mile radius of an event will get a spin-off during that week."
However, Stables insists there are longer-term prospects of the Moray Firth area selling itself better as a golfing and holiday destination on the back of the tournament.
"When I was professional at Montrose the week we had final qualifying for The Open at Carnoustie in 1999 was manic.
"A lot of people maybe don’t realise the Moray Firth coast is such a great golfing destination."
A number of clubs have already banded together to launch a collective website promoting Moray Firth Golf and what they have got to offer. It went live in the past few days. They include Stables’ own club Elgin, Moray, Hopeman, Grantown, Forres and Nairn Dunbar, and he is convinced others will also join.
Stables was a regular competitor in the competition’s early years when it was played at Gleneagles, with his highest finish a top 15 place.
"It is a huge thing for this area because we have not been going through a good time. There is unbelievable tourism potential with this.
"Where else can you go with such great golf, fantastic beaches, great whisky, amazing shortbread by Walkers, the best cashmere in the world at Johnstons of Elgin, and amazing soup from Baxters. We have everything to offer in this area and perhaps don’t do enough to sell ourselves," said Stables.
While accommodation providers and golf courses could receive a spin-off from an influx of golf fans, Stables said the opportunity for local golfers to experience a top-flight competition on their doorstep is huge.
"It is amazing the number of times I have been teaching people who say they haven’t seen live golf because we are so far away from where the big competitions take place."
That has all changed with Castle Stuart securing the rights to the Barclays Scottish Open for the next three years.
The South African pair of Oosthuizen and Schwartzel, who have been friends since their days playing junior golf together, joined golf’s most exclusive club of Major winners in the last nine months following Oosthuizen’s crushing victory in The Open at St Andrews last summer and Schwartzel’s Masters triumph at Augusta last month.
They will join current US Open Champion and 2008 Barclays Scottish Open winner Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson and defending champion Edoardo Molinari at Castle Stuart.
Oosthuizen said: "Playing on a links course will help me better prepare to defend The Open as I will be able to work on a lot of the shots I’ll require to do well at Royal St George’s.
"Obviously the perfect preparation would be to win at Castle Stuart – whoever wins the Barclays Scottish Open this year will have to be considered a big favourite for The Open because their links game will be in great shape."
Schwartzel said: "The Barclays Scottish Open has always been a big week on Tour because it is the week before The Open and it now has an extra edge because it’s being played on a links course at Castle Stuart."
All four days of the Barclays Scottish Open will be broadcast live on both BBC Television and Sky Sports, with extensive highlights on both channels.
• Advance tickets for the event are available at www.europeantourtickets.com or by phoning the ticket hotline on 0800 023 2557.
Further information is available online at www.europeantour.com or the official championship website – www.barclaysscottishopen.co.uk