Big guns give Scots campaign ammunition

Alan Campbell, The Herald, 26 August 2001

When Scotland's bid to host the 2009 Ryder Cup climaxed at Stirling Castle on Thursday night with a three gun salute from Sir Sean Connery, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Jackie Stewart, the man charged with oiling the cannon lifted his head above the parapet. 'I genuinely believe we will win,' said Alastair Dempster, the chairman of sportscotland who was drafted in to head up the Scottish bid in April, giving the campaign much-needed leadership.

At an impressive, and sometimes emotional, presentation to the Ryder Cup committee in the castle, prominent figures including Connery, Ferguson and Stewart weighed in with their endorsements of the £80 million Scottish bid. The campaign may have been initially dogged by complacency, but it has gained impetus as the finishing line nears and on any objective criteria the 2009 Ryder Cup will be held in Scotland.

Although nothing can be discounted where the self-interest and stupidity of sports administrators is concerned, the alternatives are to award it to a course (Celtic Manor in Wales) which will have to be rebuilt on environmentally sensitive land, or alternatively to a venue (Slaley Hall) which would see the tournament unacceptably return to England for the sixth time in eight stagings since Great Britain and Ireland transformed into Europe.

Dempster, a former chief executive of the TSB who has been in the sportscotland post for two years, believes his function has been to pull together the efforts of all those involved in the Scottish bid, including the Scottish Executive, the Bank of Scotland, the hotel industry, Scottish Heritage, the police, and golf's governing bodies.

Then there are the four venues - Gleneagles, Loch Lomond, Turnberry and Carnoustie - which are bidding to win the big prize next month.

Speaking at Gleneagles, which the Ryder Committee inspected on Friday and carries the mantle of favourite, Dempster pointed out: 'There was no model of this being attempted before - it is something very new to Scotland. They (the bid team) started to appreciate the extent of the work which needed to be done and they asked me to help to co-ordinate the bid. A lot of work had been done, but that's what they needed.'

The arrival of the Scottish Parliament has opened the door for this country to seriously bid for major sporting events. True, Scotland hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1970 and 1986, but securing the Ryder Cup and the 2008 European Championships could put this country on the international map.

'I have to say it would have been more difficult to put together this bid if there hadn't been a Scottish Parliament,' Dempster agreed.

'Within the Scottish Executive there is a major events unit which has the clear remit of increasing the number of major events which come to Scotland.

'That's an excellent idea because these major events, whether they're sport or anything else, have major economic importance and I don't think we've had our share of them.

'I do believe government has a role to be the catalyst, because it does need some initial seedcorn investment to see if any event is a starter or not. It's a bit like attracting inward investment to the country.'

The First Minister, Henry McLeish, also reaffirmed his commitment to bring more sporting events to Scotland.

'I have often said since becoming First Minister that I want to build a confident Scotland,' the former East Fife footballer said.

'A Scotland that is at ease on the world stage. A Scotland that plays regular host to major international sporting and cultural events. Events do not come much bigger than the Ryder Cup.

'Winning the right to host the 2009 event would send an important signal that Scotland can compete at the highest level and play host to global events.'

The Ryder Cup trail has often been tortuous, twisting and downright tedious, but the rewards to the Scottish economy are expected to be enormous.

Although there is a suspicion of figures being plucked out of the air, the latest estimate is that it could generate £200m for the country, whilst helping to treble golf tourism income to £300m per year.

Although, inevitably, the carpers and the doubters have been quick to demean Scotland's efforts to attract both the European Championships and the Ryder Cup, three of our most successful exports take a much broader perspective.

In a video message at the Stirling presentation, Connery said: 'Scotland does not wish to be a museum for the game - Scotland will continue to be the nation that is recognised by golfers around the world as the true home of golf.'

Manchester United manager Ferguson, who sat next to PGA chief executive Sandy Jones at the dinner in the castle, added: 'Scotland needs the Ryder Cup. I am also convinced that the Ryder Cup needs Scotland and I look forward to attending the tournament in Scotland in 2009.'

There were similar sentiments from former world champion racing driver Stewart, as well as this year's Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance and the man tipped to fulfill that role in eight years time, Colin Montgomerie.

The optimism of Thursday night was in contrast to the mood on the last weekend in May when the executive director of the European Tour, Ken Schofield, appeared to endorse Celtic Manor as the 2009 venue. Dempster had been at the helm of the Scottish bid for only a month, and admits the remarks of Schofield, a Scot, took him aback.

'It would be fair to say I was surprised because I had been down at Wentworth (headquarters of the European Tour) on the previous day and I'd heard nothing about his sentiments. Our attitude was that we just had to get on with it. We had to fight all the harder, and that's what we did.'

Even now there are fears that the three European Tour votes on the Ryder Cup committee could still go to Wales, which is why the decision of the three PGA members, including chairman Phil Weaver, who has the casting vote, is crucial.

Dempster, who came to the sportscotland post after the previous incumbent, Graeme Simmers, was removed for perceived political reasons, says he is aware of the behind-the-scenes wrangling between the two organisations.

'You can't live in a goldfish bowl and be unaware of it,' he says.

'That would be a mistake. We keep our ears to the ground, but we have a job to do and I'm satisfied we've done it.'

Although last week has been mainly concerned with the top line and the glitzy presentation, Dempster says the aspect of Scotland's bid which gives him most pleasure is the commitment, which is now being followed through, to make golf available to every child under nine in Scotland by 2009.

'We'll find ways of achieving it,' promises Dempster, 'and I'm confident the initiative will be reflected in the quality of youngsters coming through.

'When I became chairman of sportscotland one of things I was most interested in was to get more people more active more often. I believe passionately sport is good for children's health and can improve the fabric of life in Scotland.'

But for now Dempster is focused on the 2009 decision. The Ryder Cup committee is due to meet on September 15, and an announcement on the winning venue is pencilled in to follow an improbable nine days later.