Junior golfers from Scotland met their golf heroes when they were granted exclusive access to a VIP Open Championship event at the Macdonald Rusacks Hotel, in St Andrews.
The event, which celebrated TaylorMade Golf’s 15 years of Driver dominance, brought together some of the biggest names in the sport including Stephen Gallacher, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson for a private Q&A session to share their experiences and give insight to VIPs and the media before the tournament.
Macdonald Hotels & Resorts invited the children as part of its close relationship with Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher, who is golf brand ambassador for the hotel group. The young golf enthusiasts, aged between six and 14, were also members of the Stephen Gallacher Foundation – which encourages and develops young golfers in the Borders and Lothian regions of Scotland.
Keith Pickard, Group Director of Golf at Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, said: “We extended the exclusive invite to these local children as part of our ongoing strategy to inspire and encourage more young players to develop a future within the sport.”
Dougie Donnelly, the TV sport broadcaster, hosted the Q&A session with the professional players and offered questions to the floor afterwards. The children then met with the players for photographs and they all received signed TaylorMade memorabilia.
Keith continues: “We wanted to allow the children an up-close and personal experince with a selection of the world’s best players, it was an event that many golf fans would have been eager to attend!”
Jake Johnston, aged 9, said: “It was amazing to be so close to the players and a great experience meeting them. I’ve being playing golf since I was three-years-old and hope to be as good as these pros when I’m older!”
Macdonald Hotels & Resorts Golf www.MacdonaldHotels.co.uk/golf.
Stephen Gallacher Foundation www.sgfoundation.co.uk.
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