Solheim Cup: First Minister's speech

It is an honour to be part of this wonderful event.

I want to thank Mark Lichtenheim and the Ladies European Tour and also Mike Whan and the LPGA and to thank all of the sponsors and the beautiful Gleneagles Hotel.

In particular I want to sincerely thank John Solheim and the Solheim family for creating this wonderful event, for believing in women and championing women’s golf.

And of course a special thank you, and good luck, to our two amazing teams – to Julie and Team USA, and to Catriona and Team Europe. I’m sure you’ll put on a fantastic show.

Finally, as you can see, the Solheim Cup is nothing without the fans. We are expecting 100,000 people here over the course of the next few days. Thank you to all of you for making the event so special.

In particular, to those of you who have come from outside Scotland, I want to offer the very warmest of Scottish welcomes and encourage you to enjoy the typical Scottish weather. I hope you have a wonderful time here.

Thank you all for being here with us today. Scotland is the home of golf and is ready to provide the perfect stage. I’m delighted to welcome you all to this 16^th Solheim Cup.