Ladies Scottish Open: Carly Booth urges fans to turn out in numbers

Carly Booth has urged the Edinburgh sporting public to take advantage of a FREE world-class golf event taking place in the area this week.

The Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open gets under way at The Renaissance Club today and runs through until Sunday.

It features three of the world’s top-seven players and two of this season’s women’s major winners. They are among 12 major champions in total in the field, which also includes 19 Soheim Cup players.

Add in six past champions, including Booth and Catriona Matthew, as well as 32 Americans and it’s on par, if not even stronger, than the men’s equivalent a month ago.

“I’d definitely being encouraging parents to bring kids along here,” said 2012 winner Booth in a press conference ahead of the $1.5 million event on the East Lothian coast.

“Last week (at the AIG Women’s British Open), I saw so many kids. It was so great to see so many girls and I hope it’s the same this week.

I hope to see lot of boys and girls around, really inspired by seeing some of the best players in the world play golf.”

Booth and Matthew are among a seven-strong Scottish contingent while the field also includes Leith-based American Beth Allen.

“We are really lucky in Scotland because it is the biggest regular event on the LET and we are grateful to Aberdeen Standard Investments for that,” said Allen, the 2017 LET Order of Merit winner, of her new ‘home’ event.

“It is the most money we play for on the LET apart from the British Open, which is a major. It is a big deal for us and it brings a bit of pressure due to that.”

Adding to the excitement this year is the event being the final one in the battle to be on the Solheim Cup teams at Gleneagles next month.

When Allen’s hopes of being involved not going to materialise, she will have to be content heading there as a fan – but which team will she be supporting?

“In the past, I’ve definitely been American when the Solheim Cup has come around, but this year is different. I consider Catriona Matthew a good friend of mine,” she said of the European skipper.

“I know both captains well and that has never happened before. It will be a wierd one and when I get there I will know who I am supporting. At the moment, I am very unsure.”