Tartan Friday supports fundraising efforts

The Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open is proud to announce Maggies Centres, a network of cancer care centres, as the Official Charity of the Championship at Gullane Golf Club from the 26 – 29 July.

Maggie’s Centres, which is also the Gullane Ladies Golf Club Captain’s charity this year, is committed to providing free practical, emotional and social support to anyone affected by a cancer diagnosis. Maggie’s has a network of 22 Centres across the UK with more Centres in development at this time.

As part of Maggie’s’ presence at the tournament, the charity will offer spectators the chance to take their photo with the famous Championship trophy, a traditional Scottish Quaich, in a unique photo booth complete with golfing props as well as the chance to take part in daily raffles including the opportunity to win a fully personalised pair of bespoke tartan trousers courtesy of Scotland’s oldest tailor, Stewart Christie.

New for 2018, and in conjunction with Maggie’s, the tournament will host Tartan Friday on 27th July, with players and fans alike taking to the links in their finest tartan, to raise funds and awareness for the charity. For those that do not own tartan, tartan ribbons will be provided at the Maggie’s stand.

On the course, returning to support the Official Charity for the fourth year running is the Aberdeen Standard Investments ‘birdie pledge’, which involves Aberdeen donating £5 for every birdie and £10 for every eagle scored over the course of the Championship. Last year more than £10,000 was raised for the official charity and with the 156-strong player field shaping up to be the best yet, the fundraising target will be set high.

Speaking about the announcement, Mark Cooper, Centre Fundraising Manager at Maggies Centres, said, “We’re very grateful to the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open for their support during the event and in helping us to raise vital funds for our centres around Scotland and the UK. The funds raised by Tartan Day and the ‘Birdie Pledge’ will be invaluable to us as we aim to provide free support to cancer patients and families around the UK.”

Claire Drummond, Head of Charitable Giving at Aberdeen Standard Investments, said, “We are delighted to welcome Maggie’s to the Aberdeen Standard Investment Ladies Scottish Open and we hope our support of the ‘Birdies Pledge’ and Tartan Day, as well as other initiatives associated with the event, will have a significant bearing on people who are affected by cancer. We are very pleased to be able to help in this way.”

Taking place the week before the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open will kick off a superb two weeks of women’s links golf in the UK. The back-to-back stretch of events echoes the successful strategy employed by the Men’s Scottish Open taking place the week before The Open – an approach proven to be a competitive advantage for those players competing in both Championships. The Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open is also a key element of Scotland’s commitments to the staging of The 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles.

For more information on Maggie’s visit – https://www.maggiescentres.org/
For further championship and ticket information, please visit: https://ladiesscottishopen.com/
or follow us at @LadiesScottish