This year's Ladies Scottish Open carries a total prize fund of £1.125M.GETTY IMAGES
Public sector backers, including the Scottish Government, have been accused of "reinforcing and condoning" gender pay conventions and stereotypes by offering "significantly greater levels of financial support" for the Scottish Open at Gullane next week than for the Ladies Scottish Open staged at the same venue two weeks later, according to Mike Wilson of the HERALD SCOTLAND. The men's £5M ($6.6M) Scottish Open, which tees off at the East Lothian golf club on July 12, will award the champion £900,000 ($1.19M), while the Ladies Scottish Open carries a total prize fund of £1.125M ($1.49M), with the winner's share "just" £170,000 ($224,600). Through VisitScotland, the men's Scottish Open received £1M ($1.32M) of central government support, compared to an initial £650,000 ($858,600) for the women's event, which was subsequently increased to £800,000 ($1.06M) from the Solheim Cup fund. A Scottish Government spokesperson said, "Our funding for men's and women's sporting events is fair and equitable. It is not instructive to make direct comparisons between tournaments as each has a unique set of costs associated with several factors, including timing, location and infrastructure" (HERALD SCOTLAND, 6/30).
