Despite rumours to the contrary, no decision has yet been made about where the Ryder Cup Matches will be held in 2009. The short list is Slaley Hall; Carnoustie, Gleneagles, Loch Lomond and Turnberry; and Celtic Manor, respectively representing England Scotland and Wales. Speaking at Wentworth this weekend Ken Schofield and Sandy Jones, chief executives of the European Tour and the PGA, confirmed that the announcement would be made in September.
Over the last few days there had been a strong rumour that the Tour had already indicated a preference for Celtic Manor. Certainly the Welsh candidate has been attracting a lot of favourable comment recently and Terry Matthews, chairman of The Celtic Manor Resort in south Wales, has announced that he will spare nothing to make the Welsh bid to stage the 2009 Ryder Cup ‘irresistible’
It is understood, however, that it will be the PGA that has the final say in where the 2009 Matches will be played and, in a message to Golf Business News.com, Tony Lewis, chairman of the Wales bid for the 2009 Ryder Cup, said, “As far as I know, the announcement of the venue for the 2009 Ryder Cup will be made at the Belfry in September. I have heard nothing to the contrary.
“In the meantime, we will continue to go flat out for every golfer in Wales, because the development programme that we launched is on-going, come what may. Wales has a real appetite for major sporting events these days and as such we are looking forward to hosting our professional tournaments; The Wales Seniors Open at Royal St David’s, the Ladies Championship of Europe at Royal Porthcawl, and The Wales Open at Celtic Manor.”
Wales Ryder Cup bid www.walesrydercup2009.org