The Scottish Government has announced that more than £2m has been made available as part of an investment package aimed at golfers of all abilities across the country.

sportscotland will invest £1m over the next five years to help support the country's most talented players attempting to make the transition to tour professional standard. More than £1m has been awarded to the Scottish Golf Union (SGU) and Scottish Ladies Golfing Association (SLGA) to help support the strategic development of the sport, coaching and the Academy programme.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said: "As Scotland gears up to stage five Women's British Open championships over the next decade and host the Ryder Cup in 2014, this investment puts us in a great position to attract more professional players to the game "It will also build on the success of clubgolf, our national junior programme, which has introduced golf to record numbers of children in Scotland - almost 40,000 primary five pupils last year."

sportscotland chair Louise Martin added: "Today's announcement marks an important step forward for the future of golf in Scotland, filling in the last piece of the puzzle to allow Scotland's golfing talent to flourish. "SGU and SLGA deliver consistently both on and off the course and that's why sportscotland has increased investment in a sport which is part of the very fabric of our nation."

The new investment targeted at supporting players make the transition to tour professional standard will be managed by an independent company chaired by former sportscotland chair Graeme Simmers.