The World Hickory Open 2nd and Final Round , Luffness Golf Course, East Lothian.
Johan Moberg of Sweden won the World Hickory Open Championship with a winning score of 144 at Luffness New, Scotland’s Golf Coast, East Lothian
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Luffness New Golf Club, East Lothian – In still and beautiful conditions, the players of the 14th World Hickory Open showed amazing patience, concentration and above all their sense of humour as they tee’d off at Luffness New Golf Club and Gullane Golf Club on Scotland’s Golf Coast this morning. Today has been the closest hickory shoot out for almost a century as 10 players within 3 shots, performed for a £6000 GBP purse, for what has been a historical moment in golf.

With players from 13 countries from around the world, from as far as the USA, Japan and Scandinavia, competition was fierce. However, it was a Swede who walked off as the World Hickory Open Champion. Johan  Moberg from Sweden , after several years of trying, is the 2018 World Hickory Open Champion. His scores of 73 and 71, for a total of 144, are impressive scores in any period, but even more surprising when achieved with clubs that date back 100 years. Yet skilful players such as last year’s winner Fraser Mann and former Masters Champ Sandy Lyle are still able to hit powerful near-300-yards yard drives and record scores of as little as 67, although this has only been achieved twice in the tournament’s history.

Competition consisted of a large number of international amateur and professional golfers. As in past years, the field reflected many of the world’s best hickory golfers. Organizers were delighted with entrants from more than a dozen countries. Out of the 120 plus competitors, over 20 arrived from Switzerland, a country that counts some serious hickory golf experts.

Sweden is another European country that has embraced hickory golf at a very accomplished level, with literally thousands playing the game back home. The World Hickory welcomed over 20 of them this year.

The next largest team was not unsurprisingly from the USA, led by Mike Stevens, former champ and U.S. champion. In addition, England, led by Andrew Marshall from Norfolk, has been well represented this year. Andrew was Open champion at Carnoustie in 2015. Other nations entered included both Austria, Denmark, and another half-dozen countries, emphasizing the rapid growth of the game in Europe.

Defending champion, Fraser Mann was but one of Scotland’s representatives, including junior golfers from Loretto’s much vaunted Golf Academy, led by former hickory champion Rick Valentine, has also been playing this week.

More than 80 percent of the 2018 tournament’s entrants have competed in the past and are likely to return as the game continues to grow in this extraordinary but incredibly beautiful location of Scotland’s Golf Coast.

Hamish Steedman, Chairman of the World Hickory Festival commented, “We were very fortunate with the weather this week and as a result we saw some extremely good and competitive golf. We had our largest international field to date and it so exciting to see the World Hickory Festval go from strength to strength. The camaraderie amongst the participants was evident all week. We look forward to welcoming all participants back to East Lothian again next year.”

Councillor John McMillan, East Lothian Council spokesperson for Economic Development and Tourism, welcomed the players and the attention they brought to Scotland’s Golf Coast. He said: “Hopefully the players will return, year after year, encouraging friends and family to discover all that East Lothian has to offer, on and off the golf course. East Lothian Council was proud to support this unique event, which reflects the long history of golf here on Scotland’s Golf Coast, where Mary Queen of Scots is believed to have once played at Musselburgh Old Links, using hickory clubs similar to the ones used here. It’s great to see history and tradition celebrated at such a fun and entertaining event.”

Scores were as follows:

World Hickory Amateur Champion is James von Lossow with a total of 151, runner up John Henry Williams, third Andrew von Lossow.

Click here to visit the website of the World Hickory Open and a page where scores of the Open and Net divisions may be found.

 World Hickory Festival 15 Oct – 19 Oct 2018 www.worldhickoryopen.com

The post Closest Hickory Shoot Out For Almost A Century! appeared first on Golf North.

The economic impact of East Lothian hosting the Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) Scottish Open and ASI Ladies Scottish Open this year has been estimated at almost £5.5million according to reports based on visitor surveys and ticket sales and using standard economic methodology.

The ASI Scottish Open was held from 11-15th July at Gullane Golf Club and attracted 65,000 visitors. Of those surveyed, 13 per cent were from East Lothian, meaning that around 87 per cent of spectators were from outwith the area. Overseas visitors came from Hong Kong, Canada, Oman, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, South Africa, Portugal and the USA.

Almost 80 per cent of those surveyed were visiting East Lothian specifically for the ASI Scottish Open. Many visitors were staying overnight in the area and some had played golf while visiting or would return to East Lothian to play golf. The overall net economic impact including spending in shops & local facilities plus hotel stays has been estimated at just under £5million.

For the ASI Scottish Ladies Open, which also took place in Gullane from 25-29 July, just over 10,000 visitors attended with only 10% from East Lothian. 78 per cent of people from outwith East Lothian surveyed were visiting solely for the purpose of attending the event. The net economic impact has been calculated at almost £900k.

The two tournaments not only boosted the economy at the time of the events but have helped to safeguard a number of local jobs. Average visitor spend per person was £112 per person for the ASI Scottish Open and £150 for the ASI Ladies Scottish Open, safeguarding 87 and 16 local tourism jobs respectively.

Councillor John McMillan, East Lothian Council’s spokesperson for Economic Development and Tourism, said: “This is fantastic news and cements East Lothian’s reputation as Scotland’s Golf Coast. We were delighted to host these two tournaments this year and the fact they have brought in such a significant economic benefit makes it even more great news that East Lothian will be hosting both tournaments again in 2019. The comments from visitors who will return to East Lothian to play golf are especially welcome as it means the tournaments will continue to generate economic development for years to come, boosting trade for our wonderful golf courses and golf-related businesses including hotels, restaurants, cafes and local shops and visitor attractions.

“Another fantastic legacy comes from the fact that, in this Year of Young People, our school children were involved in competing for ProAm places, ensuring that some of our youngsters had the experience of a lifetime, playing with some of the world’s best golfers, helping to secure a passion for golf amongst the next generation.”

Gael Pollitt, Chair of Scotland’s Golf Coast, said: “Scotland’s Golf Coast welcomes this report which demonstrates the economic impact of major golfing events to East Lothian.”

Rory Colville, the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open Championship Director, said: “We are delighted to hear that the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open had such a strong impact on the East Lothian economy. We had overwhelmingly positive feedback from those who directly experienced the tournament, and it’s pleasing to hear that the high proportion of those who attended from outside of East Lothian benefitted the area to this extent. We hope that returning to Scotland’s Golf Coast in 2019 at The Renaissance Club continues to strengthen East Lothian’s reputation as an outstanding golfing destination.”

Martin Gilbert, CEO of title sponsors, Aberdeen Standard Investments, commented: “It’s great to see this report highlighting the fact that golf continues to play an integral role for Scottish tourism and as title sponsor we are proud to host both events at some of the best courses that Scotland has to offer. We are looking forward to welcoming the world’s best players back to East Lothian next year when we visit The Renaissance Club.”

Paul Bush, Director of Events with VisitScotland said: “Golf is a vital part of Scotland’s visitor economy and I am delighted to see such encouraging figures in this recent report. Golf tourism is worth £286m to the country annually and hosting the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish and Ladies Scottish Opens, two world class events, only further enhances Scotland’s reputation as the Home of Golf. We look forward to welcoming golf fans from around the world when we return to the stunning East Lothian coastline next year.”

The 2019 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open takes place from July 11-14, 2019, followed by the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open from August 8-11, 2019, both at The Renaissance Club, East Lothian.

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