Walker and Laing can now count on funding

Golf Correspondent

Friday 27 April 2012

The balance sheets may not be quite as gruesome as those being tossed around the corridors of Ibrox but, for Kylie Walker, counting up the cost of a globe-trotting season on the Ladies European Tour can make for equally eye-watering reading.

Stephen Gallacher, fourth from left, with, from left, 2012 Team Scottish Hydro members Jamie McLeary, Vikki Laing, Chris Doak, Kylie Walker, Jack Doherty, Andrew McArthur and Callum Macaulay. Picture: Ewan Barry

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Unlike Rangers, though, there is a knight in shining armour. Team Scottish Hydro, the financial support package which was launched last year for a select band of home hopefuls competing on the European Challenge Tour, has been extended for 2012 and will now embrace two players from the professional female circuit. Walker, the 25-year-old from Glasgow, and Musselburgh's Vikki Laing were last night named as the first recipients of this vital funding and the duo can now go into the campaign with a heavy burden lifted from their shoulders.

Along with Callum Macaulay, Jack Doherty, Chris Doak, Jamie McLeary and Andrew McArthur, the seven-strong pool will have all of their golf-related expenses paid for by the Scottish energy firm. It is a considerable financial commitment and one that has to be applauded, particularly when you see some of the figures being banded about."All in all, it can cost me around £50,000 a season," admitted Walker, who has already made treks to New Zealand and Australia this year. "At the start of the year I do all my planning and I estimate what it will cost. It's really quite frightening when you see the full total."Since turning professional in late 2009, Walker has being making steady strides on the Ladies European stage. The Scottish women's amateur No.1 had a trio of top-10s on the circuit last year, including a fourth in the Prague Masters and a fifth in the Ladies Scottish Open, and is now eager to make the most of the backing that she has gained."You can cut corners financially but then it has a negative effect on your performance," added Walker, who will join Laing in the field for the Scottish Open at Archerfield next week. "I have my brother as my caddy. That can be a massive cost but I try to take him on tour as much as possible as he is a huge asset to me. This is why this support is massive."At the end of its first year in operation, the Team Scottish Hydro programme was rewarded when Craig Lee, an early beneficiary, earned promotion to the main European Tour. McArthur and Doherty, the two new recruits, along with Doak, Macaulay and McLeary, the remaining trio from 2011, will all be looking to emulate that achievement. "You always hear players saying that if they had some sponsorship they could do a lot better," said McArthur, who won on the Challenge Tour in 2008. "Now it's time for me to prove that."In addition to the player funding, Scottish Hydro sponsorship manager, Jonny Petrie, also announced that the firm would be backing the recently launched Stephen Gallacher Foundation. "It's a phenomenal commitment," said Gallacher, of an investment by Scottish Hydro that now goes from the grassroots of his Foundation, through the SGU's Junior Tour and into the male and female pro scene. The Scottish game can only benefit in the future.

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Walker and Laing can now count on funding

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