Golf Star in North-East Spearheads £3m Appeal

Fundraising for cancer caring centre begins.

By Morag Lindsay.
The Press and Journal

Scottish golf star Colin Montgomerie is in the north-east today to begin fundraising for a new Maggie's cancer caring centre in Aberdeen.

The European Ryder Cup captain is spearheading an appeal – backed by the Press and Journal – to raise £3million for the project over the next two to three years.

He will lead a golf tournament at Royal Deeside today and will be guest of honour at a charity prize-giving dinner for about 200 people, hosted by building firm boss Stewart Milne, in the city tonight.

The new centre, to be developed in partnership with the charity, Maggie's, will be known as the Elizabeth Montgomerie Building after his late mother, who died from lung cancer in 1991.

Speaking exclusively to the Press and Journal last night, Mr Montgomerie said he was proud to be helping to bring the Maggie’s name to Aberdeen and wanted to ensure others had the practical and emotional support they needed to deal with a cancer diagnosis.

He said: "We were never a huggy type of family – just your typical Scottish family I suppose - and suddenly this terrible illness was thrust upon us and we just had to get on with coping with it.

"I'm not sure if we got it right, I’m sure we could have done things better if we'd had the kind of support that Maggie's offers. I wanted to be able to do something concrete to help other families so I said to my dad, 'let's do something for mum, let’s help people who are suffering the way mum did'."

The Aberdeen centre will be the second created by the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation, which the golfer set up in memory of his mother, and Maggie's first venture in the north-east. The charity runs centres in Dundee, Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Kirkcaldy and London.

Mr Montgomerie said he had received a great deal of help from people in the north-east when he was planning the first Elizabeth Montgomerie building with Maggie's in Lanarkshire, and he was delighted to be working with people like Mr Milne to create something similar closer to home.

The Press and Journal, which supported fundraising for the Inverness centre, is backing the new appeal.

Press and Journal editor Derek Tucker said: "We have been long-term supporters of the Maggie's centre in Inverness and have always been impressed with the tremendous work they do there and the valuable help they provide for people with cancer and their families.

"It seemed strange that Aberdeen was the only one of Scotland's major cities that didn't have a Maggie's centre and we are delighted to be working with Colin and his foundation to make this happen."

Mr Milne said he and his partner, Joanna Robertson, had visited the Maggie’s centre in Dundee and been hugely impressed by the work that goes on there.