The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Leuchie House will once again join the European Tour Foundation as Official Charity Partners of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open when the Rolex Series event returns to East Lothian in 2019.
Over £39,000 has been raised so for during this year’s event at Gullane Golf Club, including the popular Tartan Wednesday - with fans, players and celebrities getting kitted out in tartan on pro-am day - and the Birdie Pledge, which saw Aberdeen Standard Investments donate £5 per birdie and £10 per eagle scored throughout the course of the tournament.
The partnership will continue next year when Scotland’s national open takes place at The Renaissance Club, just a few miles along Scotland’s Golf Coast, on July 8-14, 2019, as the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open once again takes its place as part of the Rolex Series – the premium category of tournaments on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, each with a minimum prize fund of US$7 million
Doddie Weir is one of rugby’s most recognisable personalities. The former Scotland and British and Irish Lions lock forward revealed in June 2017 that he was suffering from motor neurone disease. In November that year he and his Trustees launched the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation to raise funds to aid research into the causes of motor neurone disease and investigate potential cures.
Leuchie House, an East Lothian-based charity, is Scotland’s only dedicated respite centre and offers caring respite breaks to people with long term neurological conditions, including motor neurone disease. By providing the care they need, Leuchie is able to support people with many different conditions to have fulfilling, revitalising breaks, while giving their carers time away from caring.
The European Tour Foundation works with charities, players, governing bodies and partners to ensure a lasting legacy in the countries where the European Tour plays, and this new partnership will help the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open to make a difference by working with two charities that have a positive impact in the local area and beyond.
Jill Maxwell, Global Head of Sponsorship at Aberdeen Standard Investments said: “We are delighted that such a wonderful sum of money has been raised for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Leuchie House this week. We are also pleased to continue our partnership into the 2019 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open to help continue to raise awareness of their great work in Scotland. It has been a pleasure for us to work with both charities this week and we’re thrilled to have contributed to the fundraising pot through our support of ‘Tartan Wednesday’ and the ‘Birdie Pledge’ amongst other initiatives.”
Doddie Weir said: "I'd like to thank everyone at Gullane and at the Scottish Open for their amazing support and commitment to My Name'5 Doddie Foundation. It has been an incredible week, the fans who have turned out to support this prestigious tournament have also been equally supportive of the Foundation and Leuchie House, we greatly appreciate this. A highlight was seeing the Doddie Tartan on the course on Wednesday - what a spectacle and fantastic to see so many embrace the idea!
"We are delighted to take this special relationship through to next year's Scottish Open at The Renaissance, who are hosting our Golf Day in September. I’d like to thank all involved, including the sponsors of the Scottish Open, Aberdeen Standard Investments, for giving us this opportunity and a huge congratulations to Brandon Stone for his success over the weekend."
Leuchie House Chief Executive, Mairi O'Keefe said: "Being part of the 2018 Scottish Open has been a wonderful experience for Leuchie House. We hoped to achieve three things through our involvement with the tournament: raise funds to allow more people to have the respite breaks at Leuchie they desperately need; reach out to people who could benefit from the unique service we provide but who weren’t yet aware we are here to help them; and generally raise the profile of our charity to put us in a strong position for future support.
“I’m confident that we have achieved all three this week and would like to thank the European Tour and Aberdeen Standard Investments for giving us this opportunity, for all their support, and for inviting us to do it all again next year. We can’t wait!"
Nick Rose, Head of the European Tour Foundation, said: “After a wonderful week in Gullane, the European Tour Foundation is delighted to once again join the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Leuchie House as Official Charity Partners when the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open moves along Scotland’s Golf Coast to The Renaissance Club next year.
“We have very much enjoyed working alongside both charities to raise awareness of their incredible work and provide fundraising opportunities through our sport, as the European Tour Foundation embarks on a far greater philanthropic strategy.”
To find out more about the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, Leuchie House and the European Tour Foundation, visitwww.myname5doddie.co.uk,www.leuchiehouse.org.ukandwww.europeantourfoundation.org
