Richard Scott news on CP wire

Scott has signed a three-year agreement with Wellington Financial LP, a privately held specialty finance bridge and venture debt fund.

“This makes it a little more official,” he said during an interview at his agent’s office.

The 23-year-old from Kingsville, Ont., enters professional golf with as good an amateur record as any Canadian in the past 20 years. He is one of just six men to win three Canadian Amateur titles and led Canada to a second-place finish at the world team amateur championship in October.

Scott is focusing now on finding similar success at the highest levels of professional golf. Sponsorship support is key to that while he plays smaller tours and tries to earn his place on the PGA Tour.

He is particularly pleased that Wellington Financial was willing to commit to him for three years.

“They’re in it for the long run, which is nice for me,” said Scott. “It’s definitely what you need. It’s a tough road; sometimes it takes a long time …

“I’m just happy that they’re that excited about it and that they have that much faith in me.”

Wellington Financial also sponsors golfer Danny King of Milton, Ont., who recently won the Canadian PGA Club Pro Championship for a second straight year.

The company’s agreement with Scott will see him wear its logo on his golf shirt and provide services that would include client outings.

“We are thrilled to be aligned with one of the best golfing prospects in Canadian history,” said Mark McQueen, Wellington’s president and CEO. “We believe that Richard Scott has the motivation and skill necessary to be a champion, and shares many of the key values that are required to succeed in business as well as golf.”

Scott recently completed his degree at the University of Georgia and doesn’t yet have status on any professional tour.

He views his situation as being like that of any other recent graduate looking to start into professional life. The first major decision he’s made is that he’ll be based out of St. Simons Island, Ga., which is a little over an hour from Jacksonville, Fla.

“It’s a little warmer down there,” said Scott.

He’s also decided to enter a few Hooters Tour events starting in February and hopes to play the Canadian Tour events held north of the border. The first of those is in May.

Scott will also try to get into Nationwide Tour events through Monday qualifiers, which is what Chris Baryla of Vernon, B.C., did last season.

At this point, Scott is just anxious to get started.

“I’m just looking forward to playing,” he said. “I haven’t played anything since the world am (in October). I’m looking forward to getting after it, getting back down (to Georgia) and practising.”

First he’ll spend the holidays with family in Kingsville.

Scott will no doubt spend a lot of time thinking about the year ahead — one that will start with a lot of uncertainty but has a lot of potential.

He’s excited to have Wellington Financial backing him and isn’t worried about holding up his end of the commitment with the company.

“You’ve got to act decently and act correctly,” said Scott. “I think I’m up to the task.”

It’s one of the many new tasks he’ll take on as a professional.

Scott performed a series of interviews Monday dressed in a sharp orange dress shirt and navy sports coat. He admitted that it was strange not to be wearing the golf shirts he usually dons while playing the game nearly year-round.

The course is where he’s most comfortable but Scott knows he’ll need help away from it to get to the top.