Tait On Amateur Funding

Golfweek's Alistair Tait points out that Richie Ramsay's U.S. Amateur win would not have happened had the USGA not changed it's rules on funding expenses.

In the past, players have had to pay U.S. Amateur expenses out of their own pocket. Hence the reason so few British Isles players competed.

Do the math. Ramsay is university student who often caddies at his home club of Royal Aberdeen for extra money. It would take a lot of bag dragging to afford the expenses of a transatlantic trip in peak holiday season for British travelers.

The new funding rules mean that the British Golf Unions can finance groups of players to compete in the U.S. Am. Had the old rules been in place, Ramsay would have been in Italy for the European Amateur Championship. He'd have been joined there by fellow Scot Lloyd Saltman, and English Walker Cup teammates Oliver Fisher and Robert Dinwiddie. They also took advantage of the new funding rules to compete in Minnesota.