Spain plan new Madrid course for 2018 Ryder Cup bid

FROM THE IRISHTIMES.COM WEBSITE
Spain’s hopes of staging the Ryder Cup for a second time in 2018 have been pinned on a new course to be built at Tres Cantos, 15 miles north of Madrid.
Valderrama played host in 1997, but this time the Spanish are in competition with France, Sweden, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands.
The Royal Spanish Golf Federation has now announced that Valdeloshielos Farm has been selected for the construction of two courses — one with the Ryder Cup in mind and the other a public lay-out to meet the demands of the Madrid population.
Le Golf National near Paris, which has held the French Open for the last eight years, is the best known of the courses being considered by Europe’s Ryder Cup Committee, who are expected to make their decision next year.
Sweden will unveil Bro Hof near Stockholm when it stages the SAS Masters in July.

Time for Monty

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and Poulter to

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call a truce

FROM THE HERALDSCOTLAND.COM WEBSITE

By Douglas Lowe
AS Ian Poulter, the new Accenture match-play champion, is handily placed to claim an automatic berth in Europe’s Ryder Cup team this year, his interaction with the captain Colin Montgomerie will be one to watch with interest, as the pair have a prickly relationship.
It is good news for Montgomerie, of course, that his potential team members, including the beaten finalist, Paul Casey, and fourth-placed Sergio Garcia, eclipsed the Americans at Dove Mountain, Arizona, in what is the only match-play tournament on either the European Tour or the US PGA Tour prior to the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, Wales, on October 1 to 3.
Montgomerie and Poulter have a long history of bickering, the most recent spat having come last September in the run-up to the Vivendi Trophy in France. That event – it used to be called the Seve Trophy and pits Great Britain & Ireland against the Continent of Europe – is viewed by some as a Ryder Cup warm-up.
Poulter, who has moved with his family to the United States and is concentrating on the US PGA Tour, decided not to come. He was not alone, but Montgomerie singled
him out for public criticism.

“[Poulter] having been picked for the last Ryder Cup team, a little more effort might have been made,” he said pointedly.
It was hardly a five-star insult but, given the history between the pair, it was a remark sure to cause a raising of the hackles.
In Monty’s eyes, nothing should stand in the way of regaining the Ryder Cup.
The scenario is there for Montgomerie to be disappointed again on June 3 to 6 at the Wales Open that will be played over the Ryder Cup venue. He has urged all his likely lads as a matter of top priority to come and play the TwentyTen course in this tournament to gain experience of the lay-out and, thereby, give themselves an edge over the Americans.
However, it is staged the week after the Colonial in Texas and with Poulter, who has had decent results there in the last two years, likely to play in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth the week before, the prospect of four transatlantic flights in three weeks will not be particularly appealing. Casey and Garcia are in similar situations.
Poulter’s victory on Sunday, the first by an Englishman in an individual world golf championship event, took him up to world No.5 and goes a long way to vindicating his decision to move to the US.

In Montgomerie’s eyes, though, nothing should stand in the way of regaining the Ryder Cup.
He was unimpressed 18 months ago when Poulter failed to show at Gleneagles for the Johnnie Walker Championship, of which Montgomerie is chairman and which is the final counting event for the Ryder Cup team.

Poulter, again, had scheduling reasons for not turning up at a time when he needed a wild-card pick by captain Nick Faldo.
Montgomerie, who also needed a pick, suggested Poulter had a hotline to Faldo, implying he knew he had already been selected. It was a remark that started a “handbags across the Atlantic” squabble with Poulter, suggesting Montgomerie should concentrate on his golf and the Scot, in turn, remarking “It’s nice to be told what to do by one so young and inexperienced.”
Poulter, as it turned out, did get the nod from Faldo – unlike Montgomerie – and emerged as a ray of futile sunshine at Valhalla, Kentucky, winning four points out of five, the best record by any player on either side, and showing himself without question to be a team player of the highest calibre.
That was hardly what Montgomerie thought just over four years ago in the Seve Trophy at the Wynyard, in North-east England, where Poulter, having finished his game, went to the range to practise and could be heard hitting balls while the remaining matches were coming up the 18th.
Montgomerie, who was captaining the GB&I side, marched up to Poulter to suggest he should be out on the course supporting his team-mates and reportedly received a very sharp retort. Poulter later referred to the captain’s “schoolmaster-like” approach to team meetings.
Then they were paired together at the 2008 European Open where Montgomerie took a dig at his rival’s exotic dress sense. “I don’t like being beaten by men dressed in pink,” he remarked. Pink, as fate would have it, is the colour Poulter was wearing at Dove Mountain on Sunday for his greatest success.
Montgomerie will have more control over what his team wears at Celtic Manor this autumn, but I daresay he would have them all out in purple if he thought it would make the slightest difference.
You tend to hope the pair will have a quiet word with each other before too long to call a truce to this sniping so that sweetness and light can reign – at least until the Ryder Cup is back in European hands. Then normal tit-for-tat service can be resumed.

Europe finalises Junior Ryder Cup

selection criteria for Gleneagles match

The selection criteria for the European team at the Junior Ryder Cup, the competition which helped launch the careers of Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy and Suzann Pettersen among others, have been finalised ahead of the contest at Gleneagles Hotel Resort on September 27-28, 2010.
The Junior Ryder Cup originated from an exhibition match between teams of boys and girls from Europe and the United States in 1995 before it was formally introduced in 1997. The match traditionally takes place just before The Ryder Cup and comprises six girls and six boys on each team.
Spaniard Garcia played in the first match in 1995 before qualifying for the full team four years later, while Northern Ireland’s McIlroy was part of the 2004 team. Pettersen, Norway’s top women’s professional, played in 1997 and 1999 before being part of five Solheim Cups.
For 2010, Europe’s selection criteria dictate that the team will feature three boys and three girls who were under 16 years on January 1, 2010, and three boys and three girls under 18 years on the same day.
The six under-16 players will be selected via the 2010 European Young Masters at Royal Balaton Golf Club, Hungary, from July 22-24 with the champion and runner-up from both the boys’ and the girls’ competition qualifying for the team.

Two more competitors in the European Young Masters field will be selected by the Captain, Gary Stangl, in the under-16s category.
All six under-18 players will be picked by a selection committee who will take into account performances in the European girls’ and boys’ team championships, national level junior championships and players’ standings in the European Amateur Golf Rankings (EAGR) and Ladies European Amateur Rankings (LEAR).
The complete European team will be announced following the European Young Masters on July 24.
In 2006 and 2008 Europe included under-16 players only, while the United States players were under 18, and Stangl believes the new criteria will make for an even match.
“Two years ago some of the American players were nearly 18 years old and were playing against Europeans who were under 16,” he said. “This year it will be more even in terms of ages and it promises to be an electrifying competition.”
The European youngsters will travel to Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, the venue for The 2014 Ryder Cup, on September 23 with the aim of regaining the Junior Ryder Cup, having lost to the United States at The Club at Olde Stone in Kentucky two years ago.

Prior to that Europe won the matches in 2002 and 2004, at The K Club in Ireland and Westfield Group Country Club in Ohio respectively, and the 2006 contest at The Celtic Manor Resort was tied.
Both the European and United States Junior teams will visit Celtic Manor after the Junior Ryder Cup has finished to play a nine-hole Friendship Match and to meet the players from Colin Montgomerie’s European Team and Corey Pavin’s American Team ahead of The 38th Ryder Cup.

Europe's Ryder Cup team contenders on US PGA Tour
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unlikely to come over for Celtic Manor Wales Open
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FROM THE GOLFWEEK.COM WEBSITE
By Alistair Tait
Colin Montgomerie is likely to be one disappointed European Ryder Cup captain this June. If he thinks every potential member of his team will play in the Celtic Manor Wales Open to get a sneak preview of this year’s Ryder Cup venue, then he’s in for a rude awakening.
Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia are unlikely to set foot on Celtic Manor before the Ryder Cup. All three are likely to miss the Celtic Manor Wales Open.
Poulter and Casey say scheduling difficulties make it almost certain they will skip the Wales Open (June 3-6), while Garcia restricts his UK appearances because of stringent British tax laws.
The two Englishmen will play the BMW PGA Championship (May 20-23), the European Tour’s flagship event, then they will head to the States to play in the PGA Tour’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Their problem is that the Wales Open is the week after Colonial. The prospect of criss-crossing the Atlantic four times in three weeks isn’t appealing.
“It’s tough because I want to play (the Wales Open), but I love Colonial,” Casey said. “It’s a good, old fashioned course that I love. So, as much as I’d love to see Celtic Manor, I think if you look at my schedule last year you’ll get an idea of what I’m going to do.”
Casey played Colonial last year but not Celtic Manor. So did Poulter. Poulter has more reason than Casey to choose Colonial over Celtic Manor.
“There is pressure to play at Celtic Manor, but I feel I have a chance of winning Colonial,” Poulter said. “I finished top 10 there last year, and top 15 the year before.”
Garcia’s case is more complex. He resents the UK government hitting him with large tax bills the more he plays in the UK.
According to a recent report in the Sunday Times, “if a sports star plays in two tournaments or races in two marathons a year, and one of those events is in Britain, they could be charged 50 percent tax on half their total annual sponsorship money.”
That’s why Garcia usually only plays in the Open Championship, and no other British tournaments.
“It’s not fair, but what can you do? I have to live with it,” Garcia said.
Luke Donald and Justin Rose are other potential Ryder Cup players who likely will miss the Wales Open. They also played Colonial last year.
Montgomerie wants as many of his potential players to compete at Celtic Manor as possible this year, especially after last season. Miguel Angel Jimenez was the only member of the 2008 team to tee it up in the 2009 Wales Open.
Montgomerie should have no problem getting his home-based players to compete at Celtic Manor, but those Europeans based on the US PGA Tour are bound to be no shows.
That won’t please the Scot.

UNITED STATES TEAM WILL FLY TO CARDIFF

The United States team, led by Captain Corey Pavin, will fly into Cardiff Airport when they arrive in Europe to defend the Ryder Cup at the Celtic Manor Resort from October 1-3.
The announcement was made by the Minister for Heritage, Alun Ffred Jones, who finalised an agreement with the Chief Executive of the PGA of America, Joe Steranka, during his recent trip to the PGA Golf Merchandise Show in Orlando.

Celtic Manor Resort unveils £2million bridge built as

link to practice ground for 2010 Ryder Cup

NEWS RELEASE

A vast new bridge which will transport players and spectators to the practice ground during this year’s Ryder Cup has been officially opened by the First Minister of Wales.
Carwyn Jones AM cut the ribbon on the 120-metre long, cable stayed bridge over the River Usk in the company of Sir Terry Matthews, Chairman of The Celtic Manor Resort, and Richard Hills, Europe’s Ryder Cup Director.
The £2m twin-suspension bridge completes a £16m investment by The Celtic Manor Resort in building a new course, clubhouse and surrounding infrastructure, developments that were promised when one of sport’s biggest events was awarded to Wales back in 2001.
Primarily a footbridge for spectators, the bridge will also be able to carry golf buggies transporting players and officials as well as emergency vehicles, should the need arise, when The Ryder Cup is staged at Celtic Manor between 27th September and 3rd October this year.
Sir Terry Matthews, Chairman of The Celtic Manor Resort, said: “We are proud to open this wonderful new bridge as the final major piece of construction for this year’s Ryder Cup.
“We have invested a lot of time and resources in creating not only The Twenty Ten Course, the first golf course in history to be purpose built for staging The Ryder Cup, but also the surrounding infrastructure.
“This bridge to the new practice ground is an important part of that commitment to provide the best possible playing conditions for the top golfers from Europe and America who will be gracing the event, as well as enhance the spectator experience at The 38th Ryder Cup.”
As with the construction of The Twenty Ten Course and its clubhouse, the new bridge was built by Welsh contractors, bringing further benefits to the economy of Wales. Port Talbot-based Andrew Scott Ltd was the main construction contractor and Rowecord Engineering of Newport provided the superstructure and all steelwork.
Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales, said: “The Ryder Cup is a huge event for Wales and I congratulate Sir Terry Matthews and the team at The Celtic Manor Resort on completing the final piece of the infrastructure required on-site to host such a high-profile event, which will be a superb showcase for Wales.”
The bridge was designed with close attention to the environmental and ecological sensitivities of the tidal River Usk. A six-metre exclusion zone on either side of the river bank protects otter holts and ensures the migrating patterns of salmon and shad fish are not affected.
As well as the Ryder Cup practice ground, the bridge also links to a huge TV compound housing the world’s sports broadcasters on the Caerleon side of the river. On the golf course side, a vast tented village of spectator attractions will occupy the existing Twenty Ten practice ground between the river and the first tee.
Richard Hills, Europe’s Ryder Cup Director, said: “The installation of the bridge is a vital component of The 2010 Ryder Cup, facilitating ease of access to both sides of the River Usk. The bridge will also be able to carry emergency vehicles and with this opening another part of the infrastructure required to host The 2010 Ryder Cup is officially in place.
“The Celtic Manor Resort as host venue has continually demonstrated superb commitment and we congratulate them for making this happen in such good time and thank Sir Terry Matthews whose vision has led to the biennial contest being hosted in Wales for the first time.”

Montgomerie says he won't name his Ryder Cup

vice-captains until after Open

FROM THE SPORT.SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE
By Trent Baker
Europe's Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie will not announce his vice-captains for the October 1-3 Celtic Manor match until AFTER July's Open Championship at St Andrews at the earliest.
American counterpart Corey Pavin has named former Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman, Davis Love, Jeff Sluman and Paul Goydos as his vice-captains for October's showdown at Celtic Manor. Montgomerie's predecessor Nick Faldo named Paul McGinley as his vice-captain at May's BMW PGA Championship in 2008, a move which led to the Irishman to later decline the role as he still had hopes of qualifying for Valhalla.
"There will be nothing announced on Europe's part until at least after the British Open this year, so that's the third week in July at least before any announcement is made," said Montgomerie. "I want to give everybody an opportunity of qualifying for the team and we will know more about what the qualifying situation is around that time."
Montgomerie is believed to be considering Thomas Bjorn, Jose Maria Olazabal – who was Faldo's only vice-captain – and McGinley for the role.
Europe's nine automatic-place qualifiers will be confirmed after August's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles before Montgomerie completes the 12-man team with three wild cards.
As for Pavin's vice-captains, Montgomerie said: "I don't really have any thoughts, I was never going to have any thoughts at all. That's up to him and the American team and I wish them well."
One talking point, however, is that two of Pavin's picks have never competed in the matches against Europe.The only assistant not considered a surprise was Lehman, one of Pavin's closest friends. Lehman was the Ryder Cup captain in Ireland in 2006 and chose Pavin as one of his assistants.
The big surprise is Goydos, although the announcement brought a thumbs-up from Phil Mickelson. "That'll be cool," the world No 2 said.
Goydos said his only Ryder Cup experience has been watching it on TV. Even so, he is among the most popular US PGA Tour players in the locker room because of his dry wit and honest opinions.
Pavin thought Goydos's lack of experience would be an advantage. "He is unconventional, thinks outside the box, and is an excellent judge of character and talent," he said.
Sluman is a former US PGA champion who never made a Ryder Cup team, but has plenty of experience. He was the assistant to Jack Nicklaus for three straight years in the Presidents Cup.
The choice of Love is somewhat of a surprise because at 45, the 20-time US PGA Tour winner still hopes to make the team for the first time since 2004. He is expected to be a Ryder Cup captain, perhaps as early as 2012 in Medinah.
"I get to try to make the team, and if I don't make the team, I still get to go. I think it's an honour for me to be in this group," said Love.
*The full article above appears in The Scotsman newspaper.

Corey Pavin names his four Ryder Cup assistants

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
A former Ryder Cup captain and another player many believe will serve in that capacity in the not-too-distant future are among four assistants announced today by US Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin.
Pavin chose Tom Lehman, who captained the 2006 American team at the K Club, six-time Ryder Cup player Davis Love III, Jeff Sluman and Paul Goydos as his four assistants for the matches in September at Celtic Manor, Wales.
Pavin served as one of Lehman's assistants in 2006. The Americans suffered an 18 ½-9 ½ defeat that year but will head to Wales with the Cup in hand after snapping a three-match losing streak at Valhalla, Kentucky in 2008.
Love is one of the United States' most experienced international players. He has a 9-12-5 record overall in the Ryder Cup that includes a 3-1-2 record in singles. Love has also played in six Presidents Cups.
Sluman, who won the 1988 PGA, never played in the Ryder Cup. He has served as an assistant captain in three Presidents Cups, though.
Goydos has never played in a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup but is a veteran well-liked by his peers.
Pavin will announce his four Captains' team picks on September 7, the Tuesday after the Deutsche Bank Championship.
European captain Colin Montgomerie has yet to announce his vice captains.

Monty could be giving Americans the Ryder Cup jitters already

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
There are a good few months to the Ryder Cup match in the autumn at Celtic Manor ... but are the Americans as a golfing nation getting jittery already.
Why do I ask?
Well, Alan Shipnuck, Senior Writer on the Sports Illustrated staff, writing on the Golf.com website had this to say in his summing up of the European Royal Trophy victory over Asia last weekend:

"In front of the home crowd, the overachiever from Thailand (Thongchoi Jaidee) had a chance to win his singles match against Henrik Stenson and send the Royal Trophy into sudden death, but Jaidee missed a 12-footer on the 18th hole, handing the Trophy to Europe.
"The worst part? Having Europe's smarmy captain, Colin Montgomerie, gloat about what this means vis-a-vis the Ryder Cup."

Now, Monty can be many things but "smarmy" is not one that comes readily to mind.
Is this the first pop shot by the American media at OUR Ryder Cup captain?
I shall keep my eyes peeled for more of the same as I trawl the US golf websites.

Any comments? You can E-mail them to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Ryder Cup 2018 venue is up for sale this week

FROM THE GOLFWEEK.COM WEBSITE
By Alistair Tait
Cheque books should be on display in London this week at the start of an auction to determine who stages the 2018 Ryder Cup match.
Representatives from six nations will gather near Heathrow Airport to bid to stage the match. France, Germany, Holland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden are the countries in the running.
The country with the most cash will get the match.
Of course, the European Tour is not calling Wednesday’s powwow an auction. The official term is “Symposium.”
The official media blurb reads: “Headed by the European Tour’s Ryder Cup Director Richard Hills, the Symposium will outline the entire process required for a nation to host The Ryder Cup with various speakers summarising all areas of the contest including the commercial aspect, infrastructure, security, environmental issues and media.”
The first area of concern, “the commercial aspect,” is only one that matters. That’s the way it is with the Ryder Cup.
We’ve been here before. The Tour instigated a bidding process back in the 1990s to see which Spanish course would hold the match after the decision had been made to stage the match in Spain. I seem to remember bids from courses like Novo Sancti Petri, Las Brisas and others along with eventual host course Valderrama.
Many, including me, saw the bidding process as a bit of a sham, since Valderrama was the favoured course all along. Valderrama owner Jaime Ortiz Patino’s deep pockets made sure of that. When you’ve got billions in the bank that you’re willing to spend on the European Tour, then the Ryder Cup is all yours.
It’s been the same ever since. Money has been the driving force behind Ryder Cups staged in Europe for as long as I can remember. In fact, I’ve never been to a Ryder Cup in Europe where the quality of the golf course was the priority.
Dr. Michael Smurfit used the cash he made from his packaging empire to buy the 2006 match, and Sir Terry Matthews has done the same this year. Don’t think the Tour is taking the match to Celtic Manor, Wales, to reward Welsh golfers Ian Woosnam, Brian Hugget, Dai Rees, Dave Thomas and Philip Price.
No. The match is going to Wales because Matthews put up the most cash.
If the quality of the golf course was the driving force then no one would ever have heard of The Belfry, and Royal Porthcawl would be staging this year’s Ryder Cup, just as Portmarnock would have staged the 2006 match. Porthcawl is the best layout in Wales.
The Tour will defend its decision not to take the match to this Welsh gem on the basis of logistics. Royal Porthcawl has some issues when it comes to staging the match, although the Ryder Cup probably generates enough cash to overcome such logistical problems and still show a profit.
Given the plethora of great courses around these islands, it’s almost sacrilege to take the Ryder Cup to yet another American-style layout in Celtic Manor. The Tour doesn’t care about hosting golf tournaments on classic golf courses. That notion went out the window ages ago. Mammon rules when it comes to the Ryder Cup, or any other tournament.
It’s been 29 years since the match was held on a classic British course – the 1981 contest at Walton Heath, a classic heathland gem. It’s even longer since the match was staged on a true links. The 1977 match at Royal Lytham & St Annes was the last to be played beside the sea on this side of the pond.
It could be decades before the match is staged over one of Britain’s or Ireland’s classic courses. The 2014 match will be played over the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles, another American-type layout. Moreover, the Tour has previously said it’s committed to staging the match on Continental Europe until 2030.
For my money, I’d rate the bidding countries in the following order: Sweden and France equal first, Germany second, Holland third, Portugal fourth and Spain last.
However, it’s not my money that counts. I don’t have enough it. Whoever has the most will get the greatest team event in golf.

Practice Day tickets for Ryder Cup available now

Golf enthusiasts will be afforded an unprecedented opportunity to experience the anticipation and excitement of the build-up to The 2010 Ryder Cup later this year by buying Practice Day tickets immediately.
From next Monday (January 18), anyone applying through the official ticket Website, www.rydercup.com/tickets will be able to book their places at The Ryder Cup by purchasing up to eight tickets per application for the three Practice Days at The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales, on September 28, 29 and 30.
The purchase of those Practice Day tickets will not affect other applications which individuals may have made for Match Day Tickets in the second computerised random ticket ballot draw to take place at the end of April, 2010, but will allow all those attending the practice days to firm up their travel plans NOW.
Practice Day tickets enable golf fans an opportunity to study the superstars of Europe and the United States as the build-up gathers momentum for the drama and theatre of the biennial contest over The Twenty Ten Course from October 1-3.
Captains Colin Montgomerie (Europe) and Corey Pavin (United States) will be eager to monitor the form of their Team Members as they seek to determine who to send out first on Friday October 1 when the next edition of this enthralling contest starts.
Entry to The Celtic Manor Resort will provide every ticket holder with the chance to soak up the stunning views afforded by The Twenty Ten Course while watching the practice rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the additional bonus of witnessing first-hand the Opening Ceremony on Thursday.
With that comes a not-to-be-missed opportunity to sample the Official Ryder Cup Merchandise on sale in the Tented Village, to trip down memory lane by visiting The Ryder Cup Memorabilia Exhibition and to marvel at the skills of golfing trick shot exponent, David Edwards – all in all, an unforgettable experience.
Practice Day Tickets for Tuesday (September 28) and Wednesday (September 29) cost £30 each – on these two days there is also a special concession for Under 16’s with tickets priced at £15 – and for Thursday when the Opening Ceremony takes place, the price is £40 (concessions £20). Car parking costs £10 per car on Tuesday and Wednesday and £20 on Thursday.
Richard Hills, the European Ryder Cup Director, said: “This opportunity to buy Practice Day tickets with immediate effect, irrespective of the outcome of the random ticket ballot in the Spring, represents a wonderful chance for the golfing public to savour the electric atmosphere of the three-day build-up to The 2010 Ryder Cup.
“ Practice Day tickets not only afford spectators the fantastic experience of visiting the greatest team event in golf but also the opportunity to get close and personal to the players, walk the first course in history built to host The Ryder Cup, enjoy some ‘retail therapy’ and generally become immersed in the colour of the event .”

Richie Ramsay's sights set on Ryder Cup place

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By Martin Dempster
Richie Ramsay is aiming to use the confidence he's gained from making a breakthrough on the European Tour to launch a serious challenge for a place in Colin Montgomerie's Ryder Cup side in Wales next October.
The Aberdonian has leaped to 19th in the European points list after his weekend win in the South African Open and says the fact Montgomerie will be captaining the side at the Celtic Manor Resort will give him an extra incentive over the coming weeks and months.
As an amateur, Ramsay enjoyed the opportunity of playing team golf for Scotland, as well as Great Britain & Ireland, and had his Ryder Cup appetite whetted when he went over to The K Club three years ago with some of his fellow players.
"I went to watch the guys win in Ireland and the atmosphere and everything about the event was just unbelievable," he said. "It (the Ryder Cup] is something had my eye on long, long term. It's not something that is probably in the immediate future but, if I can play just one Ryder Cup, it would be an honour.
"If it was under (the captaincy of) a Scotsman, it would mean more to me and playing for Monty would be a fantastic experience. Playing well when I return to the golf course for the Middle East swing next month is going to be a massive challenge because the fields are very strong but the new-found confidence I have from winning in South Africa can only make things easier on the golf course for me."
Asked what he felt he'd need to do to give Montgomerie a Scottish presence in the team, Ramsay added: "I would say you have to be consistent but, of all teams I've played in (as an amateur] when you look around it is normally full of winners. I'm sure that to play in the pressure of a Ryder Cup and in front of big crowds you have to be used to being in there challenging down the stretch on a Sunday, so winning big tournaments and doing well in the majors is what's required to be in with a shout of being in that team."

Any comments? You can E-mail them to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

GLENMUIR NAMED AS LEAD

VENDOR AT 2010 RYDER CUP

NEWS RELEASE FROM EUROPEAN TOUR
Glenmuir will extend their association with The Ryder Cup in 2010 following an agreement between the Scottish clothing specialists and Ryder Cup Europe LLP to make Glenmuir the Lead Vendor at The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales, from October 1-3.
As well as being a Preferred Supplier to The 2010 European Ryder Cup Team, Glenmuir’s Lead Vendor status will make them the dominant presence in The Ryder Cup Merchandising Pavilion at Celtic Manor.
Beginning in 1987, Glenmuir’s partnership with The Ryder Cup is one of the longest-running in the world of high-profile professional sport and is perfect endorsement of Glenmuir’s products and their endurance to perform at the highest levels of the game.
Colin Mee, Managing Director of Glenmuir, said: “Becoming the Lead Vendor at The Ryder Cup positions Glenmuir at the heart of one of the world’s greatest sporting occasions. The Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor next October will be a true spectacle of golf and we are delighted to be continuing and expanding our support of this iconic event.
“We are a very proud supplier to The European Ryder Cup Team and this is a great opportunity for golf fans from around the globe to experience the style and quality for which Glenmuir has become famous.”
Richard Hills, Europe’s Ryder Cup Director, said: “We are delighted to further strengthen our partnership with Glenmuir, whose expertise and high levels of excellence are a perfect fit for The European Ryder Cup Team. Spectators at Celtic Manor will now have a great opportunity to sample that excellence for themselves, with Glenmuir having the major presence in the Merchandising Pavilion at Celtic Manor.”

+Glenmuir have helped to sponsor the Hacienda del Alamo Women's February Golf Festival since it started in 2008. The Lanark company are continuing their support of the festival next February. Entry forms for the 2010 Festival are available by clicking on the appropriate wording at the top of the left hand column on the Home Page of http://www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk/
+Although primarily the Festival's events are for girls, ladies and senior ladies, boys/men can play as partners in the curtain-raising pairs event on Saturday, February 13.

Torrance says place in world's top 50 is

essential for Ryder Cup hopefuls

FROM THE SCOTSMAN. SPORT.COM WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Sam Torrance has said that he believes it will be almost impossible for players outside the top 50 in the world to make the European team for next year's Ryder Cup in Wales.
The race for places in Colin Montgomerie's side starts in the Omega European Masters in Switzerland tomorrow and Torrance, who captained Europe to victory at The Belfry in 2002, will be watching with interest over the next 12 months.Speaking yesterday at Archerfield Links, where he was playing in an invitational pro-am hosted by D J Russell, Torrance revealed that he sees the contenders being those players who are exempt for the majors and the WCG events.
"I think it is going to be extremely difficult for anyone outside the top 50 in the world to make this Ryder Cup team," he commented. "I wouldn't say it is impossible but it's going to be damn near it, I'm afraid."
That view was also expressed by some players during last week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. Frenchman Gregory Havret believes he'll require at least two wins on the European Tour in the next 12 months to have a chance of playing at Celtic Manor, while Scotland's Alastair Forsyth said victory in an event like the BMW Championship at Wentworth was a minimum requirement.
Torrance also reckons Montgomerie won't be sickened by the Ryder Cup, his fellow Scot having jokingly said that he'd shoot anyone who mentioned the event the day after the match finished in Wales.
"The Ryder Cup certainly isn't suffocating," added Torrance. "It is the greatest thing I've ever done in my life and Colin should relish and enjoy every moment of it. I certainly didn't mind anyone coming up to me the day after the match at The Belfry and mentioning the Ryder Cup to me – far from it."
Paul Lawrie is hoping he can push himself into the frame for Montgomerie's team, the Aberdonian having been given a new lease by the looks of things after recently linking up with Sam's dad, Bob, one of the most respected coaches in the game.
Lawrie finished third at Gleneagles on Sunday and Torrance was among those impressed by the former Open champion's performance over the PGA Centenary Course.
"I was watching on TV and I have to say that I thought Paul's swing was magnificent," he said. "Who knows if working with my dad is what Paul needed at this stage of his career but it is certainly paying off for him at the moment."
Torrance is hoping the performances of Lawrie and Gary Orr, who closed with a 64 to finish fifth behind Swede Peter Hedblom, could spark an upturn in fortune for Scotland's professionals over the coming months. He added:
"One question I've been asked a lot over the last year or so is about the lack of top Scottish golfers. But I believe there are loads of top Scottish golfers around and it's just a case of them making the breakthrough.
"For instance, I am waiting on the Saltman brothers to kick on as they are an exceptional golfing family. It just needs something to happen for them."
Torrance was joined at Archerfield Links by another former Ryder Cup captain, Ian Woosnam, who is adamant he won't be persuaded to be part of Montgomerie's backroom team at Celtic Manor in just over 12 months' time.
"I'm going to be keeping the commitments I've made," said the man who led Europe to a record-equalling win at The K Club in 2006. "I'm an Ambassador for Wales and that's what I'll be doing at Celtic Manor."

The Captain's Blog:

Here we go!

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
By COLIN MONTGOMERIE
Here We Go….!
Welcome to my latest blog and I think the headline says it all, doesn’t it? Eight months after I was appointed Ryder Cup Captain in Dubai, the race for points to be part of my Ryder Cup Team in Wales begins this week in the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre.
Here we go indeed, the most thrilling year of my professional career is about to get underway……and I can’t wait!
It has been a tremendously exciting time up to now and I can only imagine that excitement is going to be heightened over the next 12 months as, week by week, the Team begins to take shape.
I'm watching more golf now than I ever have before and from next week, trust me, I'll be watching even more and not just from Europe, from all around the world as European players compete on the global stage.
As you know, my mantra right from the start of my Captaincy has been that I will leave no stone unturned in my quest to regain The Ryder Cup for Europe and this is another part of that quest.
It is a great opportunity for everybody to start from scratch this week in Switzerland and a great opportunity for everybody to make that Team, because I can speak from personal experience, it's a fantastic atmosphere and a fantastic occasion to be involved with. It's our Olympic Games, if you like, and I wish everybody every success in their attempts to make it.



Top Drawer…..It’s the perfect game to play with your four-ball partners at the 19th hole or with your mates in the pub isn’t it – ie: guess the 12 men who will be in Europe’s next Ryder Cup Team. So I thought, seeing as I am the Captain after all, I should have a go too….which is exactly what I’ve done.
In a secret drawer in my house there currently sits a list of 12 players I think will stand beside me during the Opening Ceremony at Celtic Manor in a year’s time and it will be very interesting to see how many I get right.
Obviously, I can’t tell you the names of the 12 but all I will say is that there are a few rookies on the list and, again, it will be intriguing to see how many of them I get right too.
It is amazing, though, how a year is a long time in any sport, in any walk of life to be honest, and how things can change over that period. You never know, the names I have written down might well turn out to be exactly the 12 or they might not….it’s all part of the fun.
However, using my experience of trying to qualify for The Ryder Cup – and I have quite a bit of that! – I think someone will show form, someone will come through. Whether that be somebody in their 30s or 40s, or some rookie that has a sensational year - you just never know.
I moved up myself from 14th on the list in 1990, and not being a Ryder Cup player, to fourth in 1991 and on the way to my debut. So that type of person, whoever it might be, could progress as I did, learning the game at the same time and becoming better until, in the end, he becomes a Ryder Cup player. But, all I can say is wish everybody, every member of the Tour, all the very best.

Well Done, Alison…..Sticking with team golf for the moment, I would like to say what a great job Alison Nicholas did as captain of the European Solheim Cup team during the recent contest with the United States in Illinois.
Obviously we, as Europeans, didn’t quite get the final result we wanted but I thought Alison handled herself, her players and the demands of the media fantastically well. She instilled a belief in her team that they could win on American soil for the first time and, if just a few putts had dropped the European way instead of the American way, they would have done just that. But, as we all know, that is golf sometimes. I am sure, however, that the European girls will provide formidable opponents for the United States in Ireland in 2011 where they will be aiming to add the Solheim Cup to The Ryder Cup which, hopefully, will already be residing on this side of the Atlantic.


Home Comforts…..While watching the Solheim Cup, it struck me once again just how important home crowd advantage can be. There is no question that it is easier playing at home than it is away. In Wales, we will have a fantastic advantage, being that 85 or 90 per cent of the crowd will be European.
I don't feel that myself or my players will need to work on getting that crowd involvement behind us. It will be there already. European golf fans are hugely knowledgeable about the game and, having lost the last Ryder Cup, to regain it on home soil is very important.
Everybody there, every European supporter there will understand that situation and get behind the team 100 per cent. Of that, there is no doubt.

One Step Closer…..I was delighted to see recently that golf took another important step to becoming part of the Olympic Games in 2016 when, together with Rugby Sevens, it was the sport chosen by the International Olympic Committee to go forward for the final selection process in Copenhagen on October 9.
I was part of the golf party which travelled to Lausanne a few months ago to put the sport’s case in the first place and I am delighted that our campaign seems to be working so far – fingers crossed for the final vote.
I won’t personally be playing in 2016 but I am sure the players who will be around at that time will relish the chance to be an Olympic champion and have the glory of having that gold medal hung around their neck while the nation anthem plays.
I know just how proud having your national anthem played is before the start of a Ryder Cup, and it will be no different in the Olympics.
Of course, golf has been an Olympic sport in the past but the last time it was contested was in Paris in 1904. I think it is time it was back, don’t you?

A Tasty Stew……Since my last blog we have had the final two Major Championships of the 2009 season and how enthralling they were in their own way, weren’t they?
Congratulations, first and foremost, must go to Stewart Cink for his victory in The Open Championship at Turnberry. He played very well on the final day and that must not be forgotten although it most probably has been, given the performance that day, and indeed all week, of Tom Watson.
For a man just six weeks short of his 60th birthday to have a putt on the 72nd hole to win The Open was truly remarkable and gives renewed hope and encouragement to us older players who have to compete against golf’s younger brigade on a weekly basis.


Tiger Tamer……Following on from that, history unfolded before our very eyes in the US PGA at Hazeltine when Tiger Woods took a lead into the final round of a Major Championship……..and didn’t win! On each of the previous 14 occasions that had happened he did win but this time he came up against a fantastically inscrutable opponent in Y E Yang who went toe to toe with the great man and emerged victorious.
The South Korean, of course, had beaten Woods before, in the HSBC Champions on The European Tour in 2007, but he didn’t play with him that day in Shanghai. In Minnesota he did which made his victory all the more impressive.
Funnily enough, during the presentation to the Olympic Committee I mentioned earlier, one of the points we made was how quickly the game was growing in Asia and how, by making golf an Olympic sport, that growth and development could be further encouraged.
Now I’m not saying that I predicted it but, good heavens, within a couple of months of making that statement, an Asian player goes and wins a Major Championship for the first time. It’s fate I tell you…….!

Told You……Now, while I am not going to claim bragging rights about forecasting Yang’s victory at Hazeltine, I feel I must take the chance to say here and now that “I told you so” about the performance of our European players in the final Major of the season.
When I was in the Media Centre (in Minnesota) the day before the tournament started I stated publicly that I expected to have four or five European players finish in the top ten, such is the growing strength and the fantastic wealth of talent in Europe right now.
I know a few people went away from there thinking I had possibly spent too much time out in the blazing Minnesotan sunshine but I was delighted to say by the end of the week I was proved right......and then some!
Not only were there actually five European players – Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Søren Kjeldsen and Henrik Stenson – in the top nine, there were also another six – Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Francesco Molinari, Ross Fisher, Ian Poulter and Oliver Wilson – within the top 20.
Well done to each and every one of them – it truly was a week which gave me immense satisfaction from a Ryder Cup captaincy stance as well as from a European golfing fan viewpoint.

Captain Calling…..Starting this week and right through to the final counting event, the 2010 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, there will be increased focus on players’ positions within The Ryder Cup points tables and, by association, the tournaments they are contesting in a bid to further their chances.
Although The Ryder Cup is a team contest, golf is very much an individual game and every player has his own private agenda to attend to. I appreciate that and understand that fully but, however, there are three particular tournaments next year that I’d like to have everyone in attendance if possible and, now that I have the facility where I can email the whole Tour as I have done on a couple of occasions already, I’ll be doing that again with this request.
The first of these tournaments is the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. I feel every European player that is qualified for what is our flagship event should be playing there and I will be asking for that personally in my role as Captain.
The second event would be The Celtic Manor Wales Open. I think it would do them no harm at all as a European if they were to win in Wales….for obvious reasons.
The last event on my mini-list is the final counting event, the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. To be honest, I don't think I’ll really have to ask on that one. I think it will be automatic that in the last event under the spotlight, every player on the verge of the Ryder Cup Team will want to be there and be master of his own destiny.
What we must never forget is the fact that this is a European Tour campaign to win back The Ryder Cup. It is economically important for everybody from Chief Executive George O'Grady down; a home win is so important for the economy of the Tour, especially in these times.
So I can only ask for the players to compete to help me get my best 12 assembled at Celtic Manor next year.


Thank You……Speaking of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, I was delighted this year to return once again not only as a competitor, but also in my role of Championship Chairman to help the event celebrate its tenth anniversary.
I was also delighted that the tournament afforded me the honour of naming my own Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation as the dedicated charity for the event this year. I started the Foundation in honour of my late mum who died of cancer and in whose memory we are trying, through various events on and off the golf course, to build a centre in the grounds of Monklands Hospital in Lanarkshire to help fellow sufferers of this disease.
The target figure is difficult to say, but it's in excess of £3 million, and so we need a lot of support from everybody. I am delighted to say we have had that already, even in these difficult economic times, and the support is growing. The more people that know about the Foundation the better and it's been a superb journey so far.
But it will only finish when we have the Centre up and running. I know we will do it and it will be superb when the doors finally open. Believe me, that will be a very proud day for me, and for my dad James too.
So thank you very much to everyone who has helped and contributed so far.

Get Carter…..Another highlight during the week at Gleneagles was undoubtedly The Ryder Cup Forum on BBC Radio Five Live which was staged at my house and which featured, alongside myself, European Tour Chief Executive George O’Grady, Daily Mail golf writer Derek Lawrenson and Five Live’s golf correspondent Iain Carter.
We talked about a lot of issues, including The Ryder Cup of course, and it was a fun evening. Iain tells me we had a lot of positive feedback from the listeners too which is good to hear.One memorable part of the session was when I took on the role of link man and introduced some of the football matches being covered by the station that evening too.
So there you have it, not only does my CV have ‘Ryder Cup Captain’ on it, I can now legitimately add the line ‘Radio Presenter!’ Watch out Iain….!

For more from Monty, visit his official website www.colinmontgomerie.com

Gleneagles' Ryder Cup course is traditonally

a mud bath for Johnnie Walker Championship

FROM THE IRISH TIMES.COM WEBSITE
CADDIE'S ROLE: Integrity and a sense of history seems to take a back seat when a Ryder Cup venue is selected, writes COLIN BYRNE
We were at the austere Gleneagles hotel in Perthshire for the Johnnie Walker Championship last week. The hotel is a grey, imposing-looking structure perched high above the many golf courses set below it. It is in keeping with the drab weather that seems to greet us every time we go there to play golf. Unfortunately the course that we trudged around last week for four rounds of competition would do nothing to lift the gloom.
There are two other established 18-hole tracks on the Gleneagles complex and although they are not spectacular courses they are interesting and in keeping with their environment.
The King’s course, with its springy moorland turf, has been testing the golfing aristocracy since 1919. Both the King’s and Queen’s courses look like the type of lay-outs you would expect to see on the rolling land of Perthshire.
It was decided to build their third 18 holes on the vast 850-acre estate in the early 1990s and like so many quality resorts and aspiring wannabies, the management opted for American designers to create their masterpieces and lure the world to come, stay and play the unique challenge of their celebrity designer.
Arnold Palmer got the gig at The K Club in Kildare on a nice piece of farming land and put Michael Smurfit on the world golfing stage. Robert Trent Jones Junior got the call up from Terry Mathews, the Welsh IT wizard who took a late shine in life to the advantages of the game of golf. The much respected and record-holding major winner Jack Nicklaus got the invitation to design the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles, which was selected to host the Ryder Cup in 2014.
There seems to be a trend that has developed in the past decade concerning the European Ryder Cup hosts; influential businessman, limited knowledge about course design, recognises the game as a great commercial vehicle and wants to fulfil a dream of hosting the most accessible match in professional golf to the masses in his backyard.
Backyards are very much what these American creations in the British Isles are. What looks good in the swamplands of Florida or the corn fields of Illinois probably would not look quite so appealing in Perthshire. Much like a links course in Georgia would probably look slightly misplaced. Apart from the general collapse of course development due to economic reasons it may well be time for potential golf developers to reflect on future builds.
I was always miffed about how American guests would flock to Ireland's shores to embrace the challenge of our type of golf and end up traipsing around a converted farm adorned with bright flowers and pretty grass patterns on finely-trimmed fairways. An experience that could be had back in the US.
It must be a similar experience for overseas visitors to Scotland, the home of golf, dealing with the reality of playing a totally misplaced golf course where the only true experience of something different is the foul weather.
I can understand the Ryder Cup Committee struggling to find a suitable location to host their jamboree if the host country was the Czech Republic or Denmark. But the choice of unique, renowned, classic and world-class golf courses on which to stage such a prestigious event is endless in Scotland.
Perhaps Wales did not have such a wide choice of alternatives but Ireland certainly did.
For Scotland to choose the Centenary Course at Gleneagles as the arena for the ultimate professional match-play show-piece speaks volumes for the event itself; integrity and sense of history take a back seat, this is the nouveau golf show open to the highest bidder.
The successful Ryder Cup at The K Club was a sodden affair. Even when we have a dry spell The K Club is moist.
The Wales Open at Celtic Manor is a murky swamp at best and that’s held in the summer-time. The Johnnie Walker at Gleneagles, played in August, is traditionally a mud bath.
The 12th hole has been redesigned in order to bring the par back to a standard 72. The new hole was unplayable for three rounds last week as it was feared that you might loose a ball in the fairway of the newly-designed par four.
Gleneagles is truly a beautiful place. I would highly recommend a visit to the fantastic equestrian centre, the shooting school, the fishing school, the school of falconry, the spa’s and other sporting facilities at the elegant resort. The wee course and the pitch and putt course are unique and a great attribute to the complex to include the family in your golfing.
The King’s and Queen’s courses are exactly what you would expect to find in Scotland. Just beware if you come to play the ill-fitting Centenary Course which should revert back to the muddy terrain it is built on.
For the good of the suave and sophisticated Gleneagles complex and the integrity of the game and its historic links to Scotland, I hope 2014 marks the end of the modern era of the Ryder Cup location policy in Europe and integrity takes precedence once again over money.
***This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times.

Montgomerie receives Ryder

Cup Captain’s buggy for 2010

Colin Montgomerie’s preparations for The 2010 Ryder Cup continued this week when he was presented with his Captain’s golf car ahead of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
Montgomerie, who will lead Europe against the United States at The Celtic Manor Resort next year, was delighted to accept the Club Car Precendent which has been customised with the blue and gold of the European Union, has ‘Captain’s Car’ emblazoned across the front and has seats embroidered with the European flag.
“Over the years as a player I have seen how important it is for the Captain to be in the right place at the right time as the drama of each day unfolds at The Ryder Cup,” said the Scot. “The Captain’s golf car has been greenside for some of the greatest Ryder Cup moments and I am looking forward my time behind that steering wheel assisting my team.”
The car was presented by Kevin Hart, National Account Manager for Club Car, who said: “It is an honour for Club Car to be able to participate in some small way to the overall success of The Ryder Cup, and it is with great pleasure that we award the Precedent Captain’s car to Colin.
“We wish him the best of luck with his Ryder Cup preparations and of course the actual match next year.”
Club Car has provided the official cars for The Ryder Cup for the past 14 years and images of the Captains sitting in them at the back of the greens have become synonymous with the competition.

Monty: Catriona Matthew is role

model for Ryder Cup contenders

FROM THE SCOTSMAN.SPORT.COM WEBSITE
By JIM BLACK
Colin Montgomerie has issued a rallying cry to Scotland's male golfers to follow the example of Catriona Matthew, the British Women's Open champion, when they line-up at Gleneagles this week in the £1.4 million Johnnie Walker Championship.
The Ryder Cup captain is keen to see several of his countrymen emerge as contenders for places at Celtic Manor next year after lamenting the fact that not a single Scot was involved in the most recent match at Valhalla.

Montgomerie, pictured, also warned those with aspirations of making the team must aim to play their way into the world's top 40 after picking out Marc Warren as a potential contender.

"I hope this week that players like Marc Warren, David Drysdale and Alastair Forsyth show me some form because I would like to see a Scottish presence in Wales other than myself," said Montgomerie.

"Of all of our players, Marc is the one with the potential to succeed. He has the asset of great length and skill and he proved that when we played together in the World Cup and won it after finish runner-up the year before.

"Marc has had a few too many missed cuts and the consistency has not been tere. But I am sure that will come right and when the Ryder Cup qualification process starts at the European Masters in Switzerland it will be amazing the effect that has on the players. What Catriona Matthew achieved has given the game in Scotland a lift and we have had others contending recently."

Montgomerie also pointed to the success currently being enjoyed by our amateur golfers following the European and world team championship victories.

"We now need that group to go forward into the professional game and perform the same way," he said. "Really we only need a couple of them to do that to reap the rewards."

Montgomerie confessed to having felt sorry for Alison Nicholas and her Solheim Cup team after revealing that he had taken more of an interest in the biennial match than usual, presumably in search of pointers.

"They were trying to become for the first European team to win in America and after their third defeat in a row and our Ryder Cup loss last year it will be important to break the American stranglehold in Wales," he said.

Meanwhile, Montgomerie lavished praise on the Playsport Golf complex at East Kilbride after interrupting his preparations for Gleneagles to perform the opening ceremony yesterday.

"We want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to play golf before the 2014 Ryder Cup and this is an excellent facility," he enthused. "But this is not just a golf complex. There is a plan to have indoor courts as well and we are always complaining about the lack of tennis prowess in Britain.

"Tim Henman and Andrew Murray have taken the sport forward but there is not much happening beyond that. This facility can make a huge difference."

Monty wants a Ryder Cup team

that fears nobody

FROM THE SCOTSMAN SPORTS WEBSITE
By Mark Garrod
COLIN Montgomerie wants a Ryder Cup team that is totally fearless – and does not mind how young they are.
Qualifying for next year's match in Wales starts in two weeks and Montgomerie's confidence has just been given a huge boost. Europe's captain, now in the Netherlands for the KLM Open, had predicted that "four or five" possible members of his side would finish in the top 10 at the US PGA Championship on Sunday.
As it was Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy shared third place, Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson and Soren Kjeldsen were joint sixth and Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Francesco Molinari tied for 10th.
"I think that's our best ever performance in an American major and that should help us to go on and have more major champions," said the former European No1.
McIlroy is 20 and new 'Race to Dubai' leader Kaymer is 24, while Montgomerie has also been impressed by 26-year-old Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, now firmly established as the biggest hitter on either the European or US tours.
Asked if he could turn back the clock and start his career all over again the 46-year-old commented: "No – they are better than me. The potential is there to emulate the top five we had (Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam won 16 majors between them).
"I was never in that league. I had doubts they don't seem to have. There is no fear."I remember in 1999 that Sergio Garcia (19 at the time) was fearless going into the Ryder Cup and if McIlroy, Kaymer and Quiros make the team I envisage the same thing.
"I want a team that not in any way, shape or form has any fear of the Americans."
Montgomerie looks forward to seeing how they react to the pressure of playing for cup points, but this week has his focus firmly on his own career.
With no members of the world's top 50 at Kennemer the KLM Open is a real chance to end his recent barren spell of no top-10 finishes in 14 months. Darren Clarke, another without a top-10 finish this season, is the defending champion.

If Germany gets the 2018 Ryder Cup,

then Langer might return as skipper

Bernhard Langer has refused to rule out the possibility of being Ryder Cup captain again at the age of 61 in 2018.
Germany is among six countries bidding to stage that year's match and when asked whether he would be interested in leading the side if they are chosen, Langer replied: "If they (the Ryder Cup Committee) think I am still mentally with it and I haven't lost my marbles and I'm still capable of communicating and doing a good job, then maybe so.
"Why do you think I'm in the fitness room all the time?"
The double Masters champion, now the leading money-winner on the American Seniors Tour, was an outstanding captain in Detroit in 2004, leading the side to a record nine-point victory.
It seems unlikely he would be re-appointed, however.
Nick Faldo was 51 when he did the job last September and after the defeat in Louisville, Europe decided there were advantages in having an active player in charge and appointed Colin Montgomerie for next year's match in Wales.
Sweden, France, Portugal, Holland and Spain are also going to bid for what will be only the second match ever staged in continental Europe. Valderrama on the Costa del Sol played host in 1997.
It goes to Gleneagles in Scotland in 2014 before crossing the channel again.
Germany are now having their own bid process to choose which of six courses would host the match - Rosa Resort in Bad Saarow, Green Eagles in Winsen, Munchen-Valley in Munich, Gut Kaden in Hamburg, Schloss Beberbeck in Hofgeismar and Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfond in Neuburg.
This weekend could see Langer become the oldest winner in European Tour history. After two rounds of 68 he is four behind Retief Goosen at the halfway point of the BMW International Open in Munich.

Six European nations ready to bid

to host the 2018 Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup Europe today confirms that six countries – France, Germany, Holland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden – have announced their intention to bid for the 2018 Ryder Cup.
All six countries have been advised that the deadline for the submission of bids has been set for April 30, 2010. It is intended that the 2018 Host Nation will be announced in 2011.
Richard Hills, the European Ryder Cup Director, said: “We are delighted with the response and congratulate the six countries involved. We have set the date by which bids must be received in order to provide each country with the optimum opportunity in the current economic climate to present their strongest possible bid.
"In setting the sporting and commercial criteria that will be used to assess bids, we have been quite clear that each country bid must be channelled through its National Golf Federation and that no bids from individual venues will be considered.
“We look forward to working with all six countries over the coming months as they develop their bids and we will shortly be launching an Official Candidate Logo to enable bids to be effectively promoted within each nation. Assuming that all necessary criteria are met, The 2018 Ryder Cup will be played in mainland Europe.”
The 2018 Ryder Cup will be the 42nd edition of the biennial encounter – first played in 1927 – between Europe and the United States. Players from Continental Europe first became eligible for the match in 1979 since when eight matches have been played in the United States, five in England and one each in Ireland and Spain.
The 2010 Ryder Cup will be played at The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales, from October 1-3 next year.
The 2014 matches will be played at Gleneagles Hotel's PGA Centenary course at the Perthshire venue.

Monty hires Professor Purdie as

"speech caddie" for Ryder Cup

FROM THE SCOTSMAN.SPORT.COM WEBSITE
By Mike Aitken
European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie has already secured the services of a Scot for his support team at Celtic Manor next year after asking David Purdie, one of Britain's most accomplished speakers, to reprise his role of speech caddie in Wales.
Professor Purdie last offered advice on public speaking to a Ryder Cup captain when he worked with Sam Torrance at The Belfry in 2002. A former specialist in brittle bone disease – he retired from leading the centre for metabolic bone disease two years ago and now concentrates on writing and speaking about golf as well as medical matters.
Purdie played an important role in helping make Torrance the voice of European golf seven years ago.
Purdie made it clear he wasn't Torrance's speech-writer and it was the golfer who coined phrases such as "out of the shadows come heroes" and "they have a Tiger but I've got 12 lions". Instead Purdie saw his role as helping Torrance to sound like himself.
"I was his speech caddie," he said. "I carried the bag of words."
Montgomerie, who was an unbeaten member of the European team in that match seven years ago, had not forgotten the impact made by Torrance off the course at The Belfry as well as on it and resolved to ask Purdie this month to help shape his speeches.
The men, who both hail from Ayrshire, met at Gleneagles and agreed to collaborate. Purdie now has a full house of team captains from this side of the Atlantic on his client list since the Scot is already helping Colin Dalgleish, the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup captain, and European Solheim Cup captain Alison Nicholas, with their speeches.
Although Montgomerie will take to the boards at Celtic Manor with more experience of public speaking than Torrance, the recruitment of Purdie should ensure Europe are one up on the USA before the match starts at Celtic Manor rather than two down, as happened when Sir Nick Faldo was in front of the microphone at Valhalla last year.
+The full article contains 349 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.

Monty will have four assistant

captains at Celtic Manor 2010

FROM THE TELEGRAPH.CO.UK WEBSITE
Colin Montgomerie, the 2010 European captain, was clearly unimpressed with Nick Faldo's decision to go into the 2008 Ryder Cup with just one assistant captain.
The Scot is not about to make the same mistake.
Speaking at the first joint press conference of the two Ryder Cup captains at Celtic Manor, the venue for the 2010 cup, on the eve of the Welsh Open at the course this week, Montgomerie said: "More is better. To have somebody with every group, to have help, to have advice, to work as a group, I think is very important. I will be having four [assistant captains]. It is very important to feed off information coming from the course."
Faldo went into the 2008 match with just the help of Jose Maria Olazabal. Controversially Faldo's son rode on the captain's buggy and D J Spoony lurked in the background, but it looked a shamefully lightweight team compared to Paul Azinger's group of Ray Floyd, Dick Stockton, Olin Browne and, by all appearances, George Bush senior.
Montgomerie even hinted as to the identity of his assistant captains. He said: "I had a big say in the selection of the Seve Trophy captains in Thomas Bjorn and Paul McGinley and there's potential for them to take up a vice-captaincy role. Ian Woosnam did a fantastic job in Ireland and being from these parts there should be no reason why he should not be involved in my thinking."
Montgomerie then went on to quote Sam Torrance's "I'm awfully glad you've left your egos at the door" as the best comment he had heard from a captain. Torrance has said he would accept if asked and a team of Torrance, Woosnam, Bjorn and McGinley would be both powerful and popular.
Montgomerie said his would be an inclusive captaincy. "One has to listen as any leader of any team has to do. A very unwise man doesn't listen."
It may not have been so intended, but that sounded like a comment on Faldo's captaincy.
Montgomerie was far cagier on other subjects and seemed to be auditioning for a role in cabinet compared to the candour of Corey Pavin, the American captain. The big question for Pavin was how to fit Tiger Woods into his team. America won last year without Woods, but they cannot seem to win with him.
Pavin said: "Tiger wants to win the Ryder Cup very badly. I was with him in Ireland [at the 2006 Ryder Cup] quite a lot. As a player I can watch another player and see in his eyes what he's thinking and what's going through his head. I saw a very determined man who wanted to win the Ryder Cup. Tiger wants to win the Ryder Cup very, very badly."
Having said all of that Pavin did not shy away from the problem of finding someone who could form a successful partnership with Woods. He said: "It's probably going to be easier now. The confidence of some of the players who played on the [winning] Ryder Cup team in 2008 will make them feel comfortable about the Ryder Cup setting and playing with Tiger."
Pavin then asked: "Would you be intimidated playing with him." When the answer came back in the affirmative Pavin said: "I think everybody feels that way in the Ryder Cup." By admitting he has a problem, Pavin is halfway to solving it.
Meanwhile Woods is looking to step up his comeback from injury when the Memorial Tournament in Ohio gets under way on Thursday.
The world No 1 will compete for the first time since last month's Players Championship at the event hosted by Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield Village Golf Clubn.
The American is still working his way back to top form after an eight-month lay-off following knee surgery as he chases his second victory since his return.
"I'm really looking forward to competing again at the Memorial Tournament and I've been working hard on my game since the Players Championship," the 33-year-old, who won the tournament in 1999, 2000 and 2001, wrote in his monthly newsletter.
The 14-time major winner underwent reconstructive surgery on his left knee last June, which ruled him out of last year's tournament, but he has recorded five top-10 finishes, including victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, in six Tour starts since returning to fitness.
"[That record] isn't too bad considering how long I was away from the game after my knee surgery," Woods said.
"It's just frustrating when you're in position to win and don't get it done. I just need more repetitions. I just need to fine-tune everything."

Jack Nicklaus appraisal of changes

to his Gleneagles course awaited

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Bosses at Gleneagles have asked golfing legend Jack Nicklaus for his seal of approval to course changes for the 2014 Ryder Cup.
Nicklaus designed what is now known as the PGA Centenary Course, venue for the biennial clash between Europe and the United States in five years' time.

But, after Scottish course designer David McLay Kidd was hired to make alterations to the course, Nicklaus was believed to have made it known that he no longer wanted to be associated with the Perthshire venue.

Concerned about that, senior staff at Gleneagles asked Nicklaus to visit the course recently to cast his eye over the re-modelling work and now they are waiting to hear what the 18-time 'Major' winner has to say about the changes.

"Jack came here because, as we go forward to the Ryder Cup in 2014, we want to have a strong relationship with him," said Patrick Emslie, operations director of the Gleneagles Hotel.

"Jack laid out the course nearly 20 years ago and, over the course of about the last 12 years, we started to look at what else needed to happen to the course. David McLay Kidd used to work within Gleneagles and our relationship with him came about organically, I suppose.

"That relationship is great and many of the things he has done with the course has been well received and appreciated. We wanted to make sure that Jack came to see what David had done and that he could feel comfortable with the changes.

"His visit only took place a week and a half ago and we are waiting for Jack to report back to us. I expect that to happen within the next month or so."

Asked if Nicklaus had given any inidications of what he thought during the visit, Emslie added: "I think there were changes that he might not necessarily have made himself but, at the same time, they weren't changes that he was uncomfortable with, if that's the right way to put it.

"I don't think that it was a good scenario where we had a situation where we had anything other than an alignment of views on how the course was and I hope that Jack, on reflection, will say that the changes have strengthened the course.

"All golf courses evolve and the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles is no different."

The most recent change to the course, revealed yesterday for the first time during a media day for the Johnnie Walker Championship later in the year, is a re-routed 12th hole, now an excellent par-4 instead of a routine par-5.

This follows significant changes made by McLay Kidd to the seventh, 13th and 14th holes in recent years and Emslie admitted that the 18th will also be looked at with the Ryder Cup in mind.

"The 18th is a difficult tract of land and we have looked at this for at least the last 12 years to see how we can make it different through substantial changes which may or may not work in the longer term," he added.

"As things stand, it may be the case that the Ryder Cup infrastructure will mean that any changes we do make will be cosmetic rather than a re-routing. It may be shorterned to become a par-4 rather than the par-5 it is just now.

"I think that, from a cosmetic point of view, we can make it more attractive to play and also make it a hole which gives risk to reward for those who are playing it."

By the looks of things, it is unlikely that a new clubhouse will be built specifically for the Ryder Cup, which was last held in Scotland in 1973, when Muirfield hosted the event.

"We need to be realistic on our expenditure on that sort of facility," noted Emslie.

"If our golf business requires we have a new clubhouse, then we will give it consideration. Purely for the Ryder Cup, however, it is probably a step too far and, having been to Valhalla for last year's event and seen what the team requirements are, I think we are very fortunate here at Gleneagles that we have a hotel a few hundreds yards from the course."

This year's Johnnie Walker Championship takes place on August 27-30 and Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie will again serve as the chairman of the championship committee.This week Monty will be at Celtic Manor for the Wales Open and is keen to see how specific changes he's asked to be made to the course will go down with the players, some of whom will be in his side to face the Americans at the Newport venue next year.
*The full article contains 800 words and appeared in yesterday's Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.

Early doors for Monty but he's leaving

nothing to chance for Ryder Cup 2010

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Colin Montgomerie's attention to detail as Ryder Cup captain has gone as far as asking for a change to the doors into the team rooms at Celtic Manor.
In his first "Captain's Blog" on the Ryder Cup website Montgomerie, who along with opposite number Corey Pavin is competing at the venue in the Wales Open this week, revealed that he might just have saved somebody from being knocked out of the match.
"There is a quaint old Scottish saying which goes along the lines of 'every mickle maks a muckle'," he wrote. "Basically what it means is that it is important to consider all the little elements which go together to make up the big goal you are trying to achieve. "
He added: "That phrase was brought home to me once again by an incident during my visit to Celtic Manor.
"We are lucky that everything there is purpose-built for the Ryder Cup, including the team rooms which can be entered and exited by two big wooden doors.
"Although they were beautiful, as I was standing there looking at them something didn't feel right and it suddenly dawned on me - you couldn't see who was on the other side.
"Now while that might not seem a big problem, imagine you are coming back off the golf course and are just about to put your hand on the handle to pull the door open when one of your team-mates comes barging out of the room from the other side.
"Bang! The door smashes into your hand and that is your Ryder Cup finished right there and then. Twelve months of sweat and toil to get into the team taken away in an instant.
"I immediately alerted the officials to the issue and that will be changed immediately either by making each door only open one way or by putting glass panels in both the doors so you can see who is on the other side."

Monty confident there will be Scots

in his 2010 Ryder Cup team

Colin Montgomerie says he is confident Scottish golfers can reach the standard to merit inclusion for next year's Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.
The European team which lost the trophy in Valhalla last year was the first without a Scot since 1937.
"That was disappointing," the Europe captain told BBC Scotland. "I think there is a lot of Scottish potential.
"Let's hope for the second year running we don't have no Scots in the team and on this occasion I'm sure we will."
Montgomerie has built an excellent playing pedigree having never lost a singles match in a decade of Ryder Cup competition.
But the 45-year-old Scot was omitted from Nick Faldo's team for last year's event after a poor season in which he dropped outside the world's top 100 players.
It also meant he is unlikely to surpass Faldo's record points total of 25.
But Montgomerie, who has since slipped to 187th in the world, believes he has seen shoots of recovery within Scottish golf.
"We go through lulls, if you like, but Gary Orr finished well in second place at the European Open at the weekend, and Marc Warren's doing well again, Stephen Gallacher and a number of younger Scots as well," said Montgomerie.
"Let's hope these guys can carry that tradition of top Scottish golfers forward.
"We've got great potential, it's just a matter of proving it."
Gary Orr is currently Scotland's highest ranked player in the world at 130th, three places ahead of Alastair Forsyth.
In any case, Montgomerie believes he has plenty of players to choose from who are good enough to reclaim the trophy from the United States.
"I know the wealth of talent in Europe is second to none among all six Tours in the world," he said.
"We have some fantastic youngsters coming through, who will add to the nucleus of my team, and we will have a very strong European team.
"And if they play well, they might well win."
The eight-times European Order of Merit winner also reiterated his belief that he can rise again from the slump in his own game.
"My own playing days aren't over. I still want to beat players," he insisted.
"I know I have the ability and the talent, and I've been showing signs of improvement.
"There's been some good scores coming in over the last month, I just haven't put four good rounds together.
"Let's hope I start doing that sooner rather than later."

Corey Pavin wanted entire US team to be captain's pick!

American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin has revealed that on taking the job he asked if he could have 12 wild cards and select the entire side for Celtic Manor himself.
Pavin was appointed by the Professional Golfers' Association of America last December and he said at this week's Texas Open: "I asked if I could have 12 captain's picks. They just kind of laughed.
"I was serious -- the more the better. But I also think there is some merit to playing your way on the team."
Pavin, who like predecessor Paul Azinger will have "only" four picks, was reacting to this week's decision by Europe to give captain Colin Montgomerie a third wild card.
"Last time we were the ones trying to break a losing streak," added Pavin. "Now they are trying to win.
"Changing to three picks must have meant we did something right (Azinger had his number doubled to four). They are trying to do something to help them."
Pavin is playing in next month's Wales Open at Celtic Manor to familiarise himself with the venue for the match in October next year.
He and Montgomerie will have their first face-to-face conversation there since their appointments.
"I called him when he was named captain and left a message and he called me and left one a couple of weeks ago," said the former US Open champion.
"Going overseas is always harder in general," he said. "They will have the crowd, they will have the weather and the conditions on their side. That's why I have started to encourage as many Americans as possible to come over to Wales."

Monty will have three wild card selections

for 2010 Ryder Cup match at Celtic Manor

Colin Montgomerie wanted to boost the number of captain's picks from two to four for the 2010 Ryder Cup match at Celtic Manor. He has had to settle for three. Still that's one more than Nick Faldo and other past European captains had since 1995.
Only the top four players instead from a points list based on world rankings will be automatically selected. Previously the top five from a world points list and the leading five from what amounted to a European Tour money list were guaranteed places.
At skipper Paul Azinger's insistence, the United States revamped its system for the 2008 matches, allowing four captain’s picks. The Americans ended its longest losing streak by winning at Valhalla.

NEWS RELEASE FROM EUROPEAN TOUR
The qualification process for Europe’s 2010 Ryder Cup Team has been announced following a meeting of the European Tour’s Tournament Players Committee.
After discussion with Europe’s 2010 captain, Colin Montgomerie, it was decided that the leading four players from the Ryder Cup world points list would be joined by the leading five players, not otherwise qualified (having selected the four players from the Ryder Cup world points list) from the Ryder Cup European points list in automatically qualifying for Europe’s 2010 Ryder Cup team at the end of the qualification period.
Those nine players will then be joined by three captain’s picks to make up the 12-man team to take on the United States over the Twenty Ten Course at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, Wales, from October 1-3, 2010.

Monty has to talk a good game to convince

committee he should get more picks

Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie wants an increase in Ryder Cup wild card selections he will make for the 2010 Celtic Manor match - but he will have to convince the European Tour players' committee next Tuesday that it is the right thing to do.
Chairman Thomas Bjorn told PA Sport: "We will listen to the captain and the arguments for it, but we are very much a committee that believes that just because we lose one match we don't need to panic."
Nick Faldo had only two picks for last year's clash, whereas US team skipper Paul Azinger wanted and was given double that number so that current form came more into the make-up of his side.
The United States, underdogs without the injured Tiger Woods, won back the trophy and avoided a fourth successive defeat by a convincing five-point margin.
Bjorn added: "Some team captains prefer not to pick anybody and some would like to pick the whole team. Monty's certainly not scared of wanting to do what he thinks is right.
"We will discuss it hard and the fortunate thing is that we have a lot of ex-Ryder Cup players on the committee.
"Monty will want something and if he gets it he will be happy, but if he doesn't he will accept it - I know that for a fact.
"I see both arguments, I really do. But we won't panic - we will discuss it and listen to arguments for and against."