THE 20th World Left Handed Golf Championships will take place in Carnoustie in 2012.
The sustained efforts of the Carnoustie Country golf marketing campaign, which is funded by Angus Council, secured this prestigious and popular event for the area.
The international tournament is set to bring significant economic benefit to the
Angus and Dundee region in 2012 with around 400 left handed golfers from across the globe and their 200-strong entourage annually participating in the event.
News of the tournament further secures Carnoustie Country's place on the international golfing map and comes hot on the heels of the announcement that Ireland's Monks Golf Society is bringing 100 golfers to Carnoustie Country later this year.
Stuart French, Angus Council's Carnoustie Country Golf consultant and golf ambassador for the Angus & Dundee Area Tourism Partnership, spearheaded the campaign to bring the tournament to the area.
"Bringing this high profile global event to the area gives our reputation as a prime golf destination yet another boost," commented Stuart.
"An event of this scale exposes another sector of the hugely competitive golf market to our magnificent north east courses and it will generate significant economic returns for the area. Getting the event is fantastic and now we start work on making the most of the opportunity. There is for example vast potential to capitalise on pre and post event extended stays by attending international participants and visitors."
Angus Council's spokesperson for economic development David May said securing the tournament was tremendous news for the area. "Golf tourism is of huge importance to the region and has the potential to bring major economic benefits so I'm delighted that our marketing efforts are beginning to pay off," said Councillor May.
These views are echoed by the chair of the Angus and Dundee Tourism Partnership David Adams. "Bringing such high profile events to the area is part of our strategy to achieve significant growth in the Dundee and Angus golf tourism market in 2008. One of the key objectives of the strategy is to attract this calibre of international golfing event and associated global visitors to the area."
