Ryder Cup intrigue hots up at Gleneagles

Aug 29 2008 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

Ryder Cup intrigue hots up at Gleneagles

THERE might be a prize fund of £1.4 million but it’s not the lure of hard cash with has enticed so many of the top golfers to the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

The Perthshire event got under way yesterday and among competitors teeing-up on the PGA Centenary Course, which will host the 2014 Ryder Cup, were Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Marc Warren – the defending champion – Alastair Forsyth and Paul Lawrie.

Nick Faldo is also the centre of attention at the tournament, with his wild card selection for this year’s Ryder Cup in Valhalla being unveiled at a press conference on Sunday around 6pm.

Gleneagles professional Russell Smith yesterday admitted the Ryder Cup intrigue and speculation had added extra spice to the event.

“The quality of the field is the best for many years and the whole place is buzzing. This is my eighth event and it’s shaping up as the best. The turn-out was up for the pro-am on Wednesday and we expect that to continue.

“Other than the players who are already certain of their places, there is a real scrap on for slots in Faldo’s team. The eyes of world golf are on us this weekend and despite the rainfall we’ve had over the summer the course is in great shape and we’re already getting positive feedback from the players.

“Scott Fenwick and his greenkeeping team have done a fine job. They’re hoping the sun stays out and it blows a bit. The greens are soft but still quite quick. The word from pro-am was very encouraging.

“Obviously the galleries would love to see a Scottish winner and Marc Warren loves the place and he’ll be keen to become the first player to mount a successful defence of his title. As ever, all eyes will be on Monty. The romantics would love to see him win here and give Nick Faldo a decision to make on the wild cards.

“Monty took two weeks out to prepare. He felt he was golfed-out after missing the cut in America but he has had a chance to re-charge the batteries. We all know what a fantastic Ryder Cup record he has so it would be interesting to see what happens if he can stake a claim this weekend.

“It was good to see Darren Clarke back to winning ways in Holland last week and Justin Rose and Lee Westwood are two other obvious contenders for the Johnnie Walker Championship.”

For the first time, the pros are facing the new-look 618 yard ninth, with the tee shunted back to pose problems.

Graeme Marchbank, Diageo’s head of corporate sponsorship is anticipating keen weekend interest.

He noted: “The Ryder Cup team announcement means pictures of our fabulous views around The PGA Centenary Course will be seen by an even bigger worldwide tv audience. We expect to host more than 120 print media, in addition to the increase in the number of camera crews covering the event.”

*Tickets are available at the gate each day and are priced at £19 per adult per day with £16 concessions per day. Parking is free.