Who Is Eilidh Barbour?

Scottish presenter, Eilidh Barbour, is the lead anchor for the BBC's golf coverage of events like The Masters (opens in new tab) and The Open Championship. Along with golf, Barbour has also presented many different sports up and down the country, as well as covering a host of global sporting events, such as the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, Euro 2020 and the 2015 Women’s World Cup.

Working and presenting for the likes of BT Sport and the BBC, primarily covering football and golf, Barbour worked for Sky Sports for a year, replacing Hayley McQueen who was on maternity leave.

It's through working with the BBC though that golf fans will recognise Barbour, with the Scot anchoring BBC's golf coverage since 2017.

Barbour was born in Scotland in Dunkeld, Perthshire. In 2005, she finished her degree at the University of Stirling, where she studied Film and Media Studies, with an emphasis on audio and video production.

Following her time at Stirling, she went on to teach English for a year in South Korea, before returning to Scotland to start work at STV, a Scottish free-to-air television channel. Primarily editing its football and rugby highlights, Barbour later took various reporting jobs, before becoming the presenter of STV Rugby for the 2011–12 season, which focused on the Scottish rugby teams in the Pro12 league. 

In 2014, Barbour began working for the BBC, presenting the sports news on the BBC News Channel. As well as TV, she has also covered golf for BBC Radio 5 Live and presented highly established sports shows such as Football Focus, Final Score, and The Women’s Football show.

During the Winter Olympics, she got to work alongside her hero, Hazel Irvine, who she actually wrote to as a teenager sharing her admiration for her.

In 2017, Barbour replaced her idol as the lead anchor for the Masters after Irvine stepped down from the role as BBC golf lead (opens in new tab), following 25 years in the position.

After taking over the role from the highly regarded presenter, Barbour stated to the Scottish Daily Record: “She was brilliant showing me how she did that role because it was different from what I have done in the past. She has always said if I ever need to give her a call, feel free.”

A keen golfer, Barbour often posts snaps of herself out on the course, with the most recent being at the stunning Gleneagles in March 2022. Along with the pictures on social media, Barbour has also featured at the 2021 AIG Women's Open Championship Pro-Am, where she was in a group alongside Chief Executive of the R&A, Martin Slumbers, Jessica Korda, and up-and-coming golfer, Maggie Whitehead. 

As well as playing, Barbour has actively campaigned for more women to play golf and once told the website, Scottish Golf: "There are definitely more girls getting involved, I would say it's a growing sport, and campaigns like this help to encourage that.

"The tours with the female pros are also becoming better known and some of these girls are young and funkily dressed. It's the same with the young guys too, like Rickie Fowler, who wears his hi-top boots on the golf course. It's much more inclusive as a sport."

Away from golf and the day job, Barbour enjoys playing football and going for hikes in the Scottish mountains. Currently, she is dating Livingston footballer, Marvin Bartley.