SCOTTISH OPEN - McDoald invited to play at Castle Stuart

(from the SGU website)

Jack McDonald

The outstanding performances of two of Scotland’s leading amateur golfers have been rewarded in the form of invitations to compete in next week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart Golf Links.

Brian Soutar, 28, and 19-year old Jack McDonald will tee it up alongside many of the professional giants of the game including defending champion and World No 1 , Luke Donald, three-time Major Champions Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington and leading Scots Paul Lawrie and Martin Laird.

Soutar, from Leven Golfing Society in Fife, is a member of the SGU National Men's Squad and, in March, followed 2011 winner Michael Stewart in keeping the South African Amateur Championship in Scottish hands by capturing the title at Mowbray Golf Club in Cape Town.

As a result, Soutar is qualified to play in the co-sanctioned South Africa Open on The European Tour International Schedule and Sunshine Tour this November. He has been helped in his career with sponsor support from Aberdeen Asset Management and South African businessman Johann Rupert, notably for warm weather performance training.

He said: "This is great news. I'm really privileged to get an invite. With me playing in the South African Open at the end of the year, the more you play at this level the more you get used to it. It's a huge event in Scotland with some of the best players in the world competing so I'm really looking forward to it.

“I'd love to play with Luke Donald or one of the Scottish guys, like Paul Lawrie. A few of my mates will be cheering me and I’m sure there will be a big contingent coming up from Fife so it will be great to have home support."

McDonald, from Barassie in Ayrshire, has been one of the country’s outstanding juniors over the last few years, winning the Scottish Boys Stroke Play Championship in 2009 before producing an outstanding performance in the recent Amateur Championship at Royal Troon, where the University of Stirling student reached the semi-finals before losing to Austrian Matthias Schwab.

Hamish Grey, Chief Executive of the Scottish Golf Union, added: "We're very appreciative of the invitations to both players, giving them a great experience of tournament golf at such a high level. Thanks hugely to The European Tour and Aberdeen Asset Management."

The invite criteria for the Scots pair is based on them currently being the two highest-ranked Scots on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. McDonald is 107th and Soutar 134th.

Advance ticket savings are still available for the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, with adult one day tickets currently costing £30 – a reduction of £5 on the gate price. Adult season tickets are currently priced at £70, offering a £10 saving on the gate price.

Hospitality places in the panoramic top floor of the Castle Stuart Clubhouse on Thursday, Friday and Saturday priced from £219 + VAT per person.

Full details of all Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open ticket and hospitality offers can be found at: www.europeantour.com/tickets or by calling the Ticket Hotline: +44 (0) 800 023 2557.