Scottish golf trio the Saltman brothers tee up for Homecoming Day at The Open Championship 

Press Release
Monday, July 6th 2009

The Saltman brothers, Scotland’s first family of the fairways, were at Turnberry today, July 6th 2009, to be the first to tee up for Homecoming Day at The Open Championship, which will be held in a week’s time. The professional golfing siblings: Lloyd, Elliot and Zack, all from East Lothian, played a family friendly over the Homecoming putting green and were the first scores entered into the Homecoming Putting Challenge.

The family competition, open to budding golfers of all ages, will take place as part of Homecoming Day at The Open on Wednesday July 15th. Homecoming Day is a family day to celebrate Scotland’s year of Homecoming, the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns and The Open Championship returning to Scottish soil, and will also include a rare and unique opportunity for golf enthusiasts to have their picture taken with the coveted Claret Jug.

Middle brother, Lloyd Saltman, 23, is especially familiar with The Open Championship after he finished 15th at St Andrews in 2005 and won the silver medal for best amateur.

He said: “Homecoming Day is all about families coming together to celebrate two of Scotland’s finest exports, Robert Burns and golf. Growing up in a family of golfers there’s always a lot of friendly rivalry and the Homecoming Putting Challenge is a great way to compete with family and friends and show your skills at a truly iconic venue. You might even find yourself putting alongside some of the world’s best golfers, past and present.”

The Open Championship is one of the world’s biggest golf tournaments and this year the line up is as strong as ever. Tiger Woods, Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington will all be competing against Scotland’s own golfing greats including Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie and the 1999 Open Champion, Paul Lawrie.

Eldest brother, Elliot Saltman, 26, the first of the siblings to step into the limelight as a professional said: “Competitions like the Homecoming Putting Challenge are fantastic because they let golf enthusiasts and novices, young and old, all play together in an atmosphere which will be really buzzing on July 15th. The Open Championship is such an incredible tournament, both to watch and to compete in, and Homecoming Day will be a unique opportunity to see some real legends of golf up close and in action.”

Youngest brother Zack, 20, who turned professional in January this year, continued: “Competing against my brothers is always interesting and earlier this year we competed together at the Villaitana Open in Spain. The Homecoming Putting Challenge is a bit more relaxed though and a great opportunity for families and friends to get into the spirit of The Open before the competition really gets going.”

Activities start from 9am on Homecoming Day with other activities including a chance to win a fantastic Homecoming golf break to Scotland, have your photo taken with the Claret Jug, and watch some classic Open Championship moments from Scotland on the big screens within the tented village.

Marie Christie, Project Director for Homecoming Scotland, said: “People all over the world have a passion for golf, a passion for Scotland and a passion for Robert Burns so The Open returning to Turnberry in Ayrshire, the birth place of Burns, brings all three elements together for Scotland’s year of Homecoming. Homecoming Scotland is a year long celebration of more than 300 events which celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns and The Open is yet another great reason to come to Scotland, enjoy the golf and explore the area which inspired some of the most famous poetry in the world.”

Tickets for Homecoming Day at The Open cost just £30 per adult and children under 16 years old go free when accompanied by an adult.

Tickets are available to purchase now from www.OpenGolf.com. For more information on The Open Championship and other golfing events taking place in Homecoming Year, visit www.homecomingscotland2009.com/golf

Ends

Media contact

Rebecca Hill, Marketing and Communications Executive Homecoming Scotland 2009
T: 0131 472 2354. E: Rebecca.Hill@eventscotland.org

Notes to editors

The Open Championship:

The Open Championship is regarded by many as the biggest and best event on the global golfing calendar and its return to Turnberry, Ayrshire in 2009 is just one of the great reasons to come to Scotland for Homecoming this year.

With Scotland credited as having developed the game of golf back in the thirteenth century, it is obvious that when celebrating some of Scotland’s great contributions to the world, golf is at the forefront of the festivities. From those early days Scotland, known world-wide as ‘The Home of Golf’, has nurtured over 550 courses and been a destination for golf fans for over 100 years.

The first 12 Open Championships took place in Prestwick, Ayrshire in 1860 so Ayrshire has a long association with the competition. Its return to the Ailsa Course, Turnberry, one of Scotland’s most iconic courses, after an absence of 15 years is in itself a cause for celebration.

Homecoming Scotland 2009:

Homecoming Day takes place on Wednesday 15th July 2009; activities will run between 9am - 6pm.

Homecoming Scotland is a year-long celebration of over 300 events marking Scotland’s major contributions to the world stretching from Burns Night to St Andrews Day 2009.

Homecoming Scotland is a Scottish Government initiative managed by EventScotland, the national events agency, in partnership with VisitScotland, the country's national tourism agency. The initiative is part financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.

Robert Burns is the inspiration for Homecoming Scotland as 2009 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland’s national poet.

As well as Robert Burns, Homecoming Scotland events are also celebrating some of the other great contributions Scotland has given the world – golf, whisky, great Scottish minds and innovations, and as the ancestral home to millions of people around the world.

Copies of the updated Events Guide are free and available now at VisitScotland Information Centres and many other key outlets across Scotland and the UK including Tourist Information Centres in England.

The programme is available online at http://www.homecomingscotland2009.com both as a downloadable file and searchable database.

The programme of events for the year has been created by EventScotland’s Homecoming Scotland 2009 team, working in partnership with event owners, local authorities, arts, culture and sport organisations and businesses. A quarter of all the events in the programme are free.

Visit www.homecomingscotland2009.com for more information about Homecoming and the events programme.