In the grand scheme of the millions that were generated by the Ryder Cup on Scottish soil last year, you'd probably think that £30,000 could be cobbled together from a quick rummage down the back of a Chaise Lounge in the lobby of the Gleneagles Hotel.
Amid the euphoric back-slapping, high-fiving and popping of champagne corks that greeted Europe's victory over the USA in Perthshire, Brian Mair, the secretary of the Scottish PGA, knew the hard work was just beginning.
"The Ryder Cup frustrated me in some respects," said Mair, whose office overlooking the King's course was slap bang in the middle of the vast Ryder Cup circus that descended on Gleneagles last September. "It was a fantastic opportunity but I always knew that the job would start the day they took the stands away. We always knew that this year was going to be more difficult than last year, when everyone was our friend due to the Ryder Cup. A lot of our friends have stayed as friends, but we need to get new friends as well. It can be easy to panic and just get the first thing that comes along but we have to get the right partners in place as it needs to be long term."
While the on-going commitment to headline grabbing events like the Scottish Open, the Ladies' Scottish Open and the Women's British Open have been a key part of the Ryder Cup process, it is easy to forget about those less publicised tournaments that are just as important to the domestic scene. The Northern Open is one of Scotland's oldest professional championships but, without a main sponsor this year, its future remained uncertain. The Ryder Cup has come to the rescue. "We are putting in £30,000 from the Ryder Cup legacy fund to support it," revealed Sandy Jones, the chief executive of the PGA, who is well aware of the hangover that can kick in during the months and years after the Ryder Cup party. "Brian was struggling a bit with the Northern Open because when the oil industry has problems up there it has a knock-on effect. With the Ryder Cup there is almost a year after thing whereby the local sponsors have done their money in. We helped a bit in Ireland after the Ryder Cup in 2006. We also did a bit in Wales after the 2010 Ryder Cup there when they couldn't find a sponsor for the Welsh PGA Championship. If Brian finds another sponsor for the Northern Open then that's great, but the Ryder Cup will underwrite it this year."
The Northern Open, which will take place from June 9-12 at Cruden Bay, forms part of a healthy Scottish PGA schedule as the Tartan Tour moves into its 40th year. With a total purse of just over £650,000, the circuit remains by far the most lucrative of all the PGA's regions with the Irish tour the next best at around £350,000. The Scottish PGA Championship, with a prize fund of £40,000, will be the highlight of the calendar while 54-holers like the P&H Championship, the Tomatin Pro-Am and the Paul Lawrie Invitational bolster a schedule that also includes well over 50 Pro-Am contests, the one day events that remain the Tartan Tour's lifeblood.
In addition to the regular programme, the Ladies' Tartan Tour, which is backed by that man Lawrie, will continue in 2015 with its opening event getting underway today at Murcar Links.
"Those events will have guaranteed prize funds of between £3500 and £5000," added Mair, who also reported that events for some of the more elder statesmen of the Scottish circuit will also continue this season. "The senior events weren't as successful as I would have liked them to have been last year. One thing we are doing, which makes sense logistically, is that we are tagging the senior events on to the back of the Ladies' Tour. It will allow us to see if there is a true demand for it. What we are trying to do is increase playing opportunities for everyone, not just the regular Tartan Tour players."
Tartan Tour 2015 main events
May 3-6, Scottish PGA Championship, Gleneagles
May 25-27, P&H Championship, The Renaissance
Jun 9-12, Northern Open, Cruden Bay
Jun 29-July 1, Scottish Young Professionals' Championship, West Lothian
Jul 28-29, Duddingston 36-hole Order of Merit Challenge, Duddingston
Aug 4-5, Deer Park Masters, Deer Park
Aug 24-25, Dundonald 36-hole Order of Merit Challenge, Dundonald Links
Aug 29-30, Kerr Investments 36-holer, Dumfries & Galloway
Sep 8-9, Carnegie Invitational, Skibo Castle
Sep 15-17, Paul Lawrie Invitational, Deeside
Sep 22-23, Musselburgh 36-hole Order of Merit Challenge, Musselburgh
Sep 28-30, Tomatin 54-hole Pro-Am, Castle Stuart, Nairn & Royal Dornoch
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