The World Left-Handed Golf Championships have teed off in Scotland for the first time with 140 right-handed players among those taking part.
A total of 240 lefties are playing in this year’s tournament, along with 140 ‘normal’ players.
The event started with a night in the Hilton in Dundee on Sunday before players headed out to play some of the country’s finest golf courses on Monday.
The competition, now in its 21st year, is expected to bring in about £250,000 to the local economy with players staying in local hotels and playing the Montrose, Monifieth, Panmure and Scotscraig courses throughout this week, as well as going on tours.
This year’s championship has been organised by Platinum Golf Scotland in association with the British Left-handed Golfers Association and has attracted players of all age ranges and backgrounds from countries such as Uganda and Sri Lanka.
Platinum Golf director Stuart French said: ”There are people from 19 different countries taking part in this tournament and they are all up for it. They’ve done a lot of practice rounds in the area, we had a brilliant opening ceremony and we take it as a chance to showcase Scotland.”
The World Association of Left-handed Golfers started in the late 1970s after a series of international golfing trips taken by two left-handed Australian golfers to tournaments in the US and Britain.
Talks during those visits laid the foundations for a regular international trip and the World Championships began.
It is estimated that only 10% of the world’s golfers are left-handed, despite several of the game’s leading players, such as Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, being lefties.
However, being in the minority has created a sense of unity for the left-sided community and it was that togetherness that spawned the first championship in 1979.
Find out more at www.walg.org