Selkirk firm in line for global exposure after creating tartan for golf’s Solheim Cup

Selkirk’s Lochcarron mill has been commissioned by VisitScotland to produce a tartan to mark the return of the Solheim Cup to the country for the first time for almost 20 years.

Its design was unveiled last Thursday by Scottish Government public health, sport and wellbeing minister Joe FitzPatrick and European Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew.

This year’s cup contest will take place in September at Gleneagles in Perth and Kinross, and around 100,000 spectators are expected to turn out to see the Edinburgh-born 49-year-old’s European team take on US opposition, with hundreds of millions more watching on television.

Lochcarron’s official Solheim Cup tartan is a blue, red, yellow and white design, produced by Rebecca Ferguson, to mirror the colours on the flags of Scotland, Europe and the US.

Unveiling it at the firm’s Dunsdale Road factory, Mr FitzPatrick said: “The 2019 Solheim Cup will deliver a multitude of benefits to Scotland including promoting equality across sport and society, showcasing Scotland to the world and inspiring the next generation of young male and female golfers.

“It is also exciting how this event is engaging Scottish businesses and manufacturers such as Lochcarron of Scotland.

“Tartan and golf are two of Scotland’s most famous exports, so it makes sense to combine them to commemorate the 2019 Solheim Cup.”

Mrs Matthew added: “It’s exciting to see the official Solheim Cup tartan and a reminder that the first tee shots will be hit at Gleneagles in little more than five months’ time.

“I think the tartan looks fantastic, and I love that it represents the colours of the European, US and Scottish flags.

“The Solheim Cup is always hugely competitive but played in great spirit between the two teams, and I think the tartan represents that perfectly.”

The new tartan is expected to feature in the programme for cup, a biennial event named after Norwegian-born golf club designer Karsten Solheim and first staged in 1990, and might also be included in the team’s uniform, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.

Dawn Robson-Bell, managing director of Lochcarron, founded in 1947, said: “We were thrilled to be asked by VisitScotland to create a tartan to commemorate the 2019 Solheim Cup.

“Tartan is historically a terrific way of promoting unity and togetherness by incorporating colours from different families and clans, so it is a perfect way to commemorate this match between two teams from Europe and the US.

“We look forward to seeing the tartan in the official stores during the 2019 cup, and we hope fans on both sides will like the design.”

For more information, visit www.solheimcup2019.com