Ryder Cup bids to be trimmed

Mike Aitken, The Scotsman, 24 February 2001

Scotland's list of candidates for the 2009 Ryder Cup will be trimmed back again next week after St Andrews confirmed their decision yesterday to withdraw the Old Course as a potential venue.

It is understood a meeting of the Scottish venues will be held shortly, at which Carnoustie will also consider standing down and Turnberry will re-assess its position. Either Loch Lomond or Gleneagles will then go up against Celtic Manor in Wales and Slaley Hall from the north of England when the final decision about the 2009 venue is made in September.

Once it became clear earlier this week that the Ryder Cup committee wanted Scotland to identify just one course as a preferred venue, the Scottish executive had to prune the five alternatives named in their bid document. After their withdrawal was revealed by this newspaper yesterday, Alan McGregor, the general manager of the St Andrews Links Trust, said: "We’ve been committed to ensuring the 2009 Ryder Cup comes to Scotland and have given our full support to the Scottish bid. It’s become clear that Scotland’s bid would be strengthened by a more concentrated focus on fewer venues and consequently the St Andrews Links Management Committee took the decision not to pursue our bid.

"The most important consideration is that the Ryder Cup comes to Scotland in 2009 as the economic benefits will be felt in Fife and elsewhere, not just at the successful venue.

"It will have an impact on the whole of Scottish golf and we will do everything in our power to ensure that the 2009 Ryder Cup is played in the land where the game began."