Carly Booth and Eve Muirhead star at Scottish Open

Aug 27 2010 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

TWO of Perthshire’s top sporting stars shared the limelight during the Ladies Scottish Open at Archerfield, near Edinburgh.

Carly Booth (18) was toasting a new management deal and sponsorship at the European Ladies Tour event backed by Aberdeen Asset Management.

And she met-up with GB Olympic curler Eve Muirhead, whose golfing skills paved the way for an invite to join the professionals teeing-up at the east Lothian course.

Comrie girl Carly, feeling her way onto the tour after leaving Glenalmond, has joined the International Management Group, under the umbrella of a company whose client roster includes Tiger Woods, Michelle Wie and Colin Montgomerie.

She has also sealed sponsorship deals with Gleneagles, Nike, Aberdeen Asset Management and Lomond Audi, who are providing her with an Audi A3 now that she has passed her driving test.

Carly, who finished 23rd equal at Archerfield after carding 77, 73 and 76, said: “I am delighted to have four such prestigious corporate partners backing me even before I have proved myself out on the professional tour.”

But while Carly is looking forward to progressing her career in the professional ranks, Eve, from Blair Atholl, is set to tuck the clubs away for the winter to focus again on her curling.

A three handicapper, she took part in the weekend Texas Scramble at her home club Pitlochry on Sunday after enjoying some Spanish sunshine.

But next month the 20-year-old full-time athlete, a three times junior world champion and Perth and Kinross Sports Personality of the Year, heads to foreign fields for her first continental curling event of the new season.

And that means stepping-up her off-ice training now.

“We do a lot of strength and conditioning work for stability and core strength, and also a lot of cardio work. Curling has adapted in the last few years to the fitness side. All the countries are doing that. The more physically fit you are the more mentally fit you are. It definitely does help you,” she said.

Unlike one-time golfing teammate Carly, Eve relies on UK Sport grant funding to keep her sporting career on track. She has that nailed down for another 12 months.

But Eve is well aware the pressure is on to deliver medals at European and world level to maintain that financial backing.

And she laughed at the dramatic changes in curling since farmer dad Gordon was a leading light on the international scene.

“My dad has been to the Olympics and he’s been to the World Championships and his warm-up was a cup of coffee!” she joked. “Now we train full time but obviously you only get curling ice in the winter.

“The next Olympics are four years away and we’ve still got to produce medals to maintain our funding. We’re going to have to go out and perform well.

“I think if we have a good year this year, then they can’t say no to the funding. We just need results really.”