2014 RACE TO THE RYDER CUP WILL END AT ITALIAN OPEN
NEWS RFLEASE FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR
The
European Tour has today confirmed that the quest to qualify for
Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup team will conclude at the Italian Open on
Sunday, August 31 next year.
The
tournament – which has been a fixture on the schedule since the
inception of The European Tour in 1972 and which has seen some of the
greatest names in the history of the game lift the title – will bring
the curtain down on the race
for the nine automatic places in Captain Paul McGinley’s team for
Gleneagles; the first four coming from the European Points List with the
remaining five coming from the World Points List.
Speaking
at the prize-giving ceremony of the 70° Italian Open LINDT this
afternoon, where Julien Quesne lifted the title, Italian Golf Federation
President Franco Chimenti spoke of his nation’s delight that the 2014
Italian Open will
be the last qualifying event.
He
said: “This is a great boost for the Italian Open, and we are already
counting down to what I am sure will be a very exciting week both for
Italian golf and for The Ryder Cup. Of course, it would also be very
special if we were able
to welcome some of our own players to the team next year to follow in
the footsteps of Costantino Rocca and Francesco and Edoardo Molinari.”
McGinley,
who will be joined in Scotland over the next two days by US Captain Tom
Watson to take part in the celebrations to mark a Year To Go to The
2014 Ryder Cup, said: “All along the journey to The Ryder Cup there are
significant
milestones, and the tournament where the points race will conclude is a
major one of those.
“The
Italian Open is steeped in history and is one of the great
championships on The European Tour, and I look forward to being in Italy
when the nine automatic qualifiers are determined.”
McGinley
will name his three wild card selections the following day – Monday
September 1, 2014 – with the venue for that announcement being confirmed
at a later date.
Francesco
Molinari, who has been a part of Europe’s last two Ryder Cup teams that
triumphed in Wales in 2010 and the USA in 2012, welcomed the
announcement.
He
said: “It’s great news for the Italian Open. You only have to look at
how successful the tournament has been this week, and hopefully The
Ryder Cup Points finishing here will add to its profile. There is a long
way to go, but it would
be pretty special to qualify for the team at the Italian Open – that is
certainly the goal.”
Labels: RYDER CUP
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