Family ties help to resurrect flagship golf tournament

Back in 1980, while he was the manager at the TSB bank in Cupar, Les McAndrew snr set up the event to be played at the town’s golf club.

The event started off on the front foot and never looked back, becoming a pivotal part of the sporting calendar.

That was until recently, when interest and support dwindled.

Last year the TSB wasn’t played at all – its absence jolting the club into action and making a renewed effort to ensure it wouldn’t be allowed to slip into the past.

It’ll be back this year, being played at Cupar Golf Club on July 31, and will be supported by one local firm with a vested interest in its health.

Property experts Graham and Sibbald have two Fife offices, one in St Andrews, and the firm’s managing partner Les McAndrew jnr is keen to have the firm’s name associated with the event.

He said: “My father, now 84, whilst manager at the TSB Bank in Cupar, originally set up the TSB Day way back in 1980, the idea being that the name TSB not only advertised the bank but also stood for local Trades, Societies and Businesses.

“I can recall that the TSB Day was virtually an instant success back then and in its hey-day attracted 44 teams or so with the first tee-off at 6am in the morning through to 4pm in the afternoon with the clubhouse bar being packed for the majority of the day with local tradesmen, businesses, bankers, lawyers, accountants and so on, all clearly having fun but with a hint of business going on at the same time.”

The flagship TSB is a fourball event which, during its peak, saw businesses and office workers team up to compete against other local firms.

With extra prize money on offer this year, the incentive is there for businesses and individuals in the area to scrape a team together.

Mr McAndrew added: “When I was asked by the club to do the sponsorship it seemed like a natural and logical fit not only because of the business and personal connection, but also particularly as local greenkeeper, Gary Douglas, has got the course into what I would consider to be an amazing condition within the budget constraints of a small club like Cupar.

“I am lucky enough to play a lot of corporate golf at some of Scotland’s finest golf courses but the greens at Cupar are up there with the best of them, and, of course, almost Augusta quick.

“It would also be extra special for me personally if my father at the age of 84 could see the TSB Day being reignited to its former glory as a result of not only the hard work of the members and staff at Cupar, but also from the sponsorship package offered by my firm, and that the bar is once again buzzing.”