We're down but not out - brave face on Ryder Cup flop

Daily Record, 29 September 2001

Scotland yesterday lost the fight to stage the 2010 Ryder Cup - but won the consolation of hosting the event in 2014.

The 2010 event went to Wales, amid allegations of dodgy dealing and demands for an inquiry.

First Minister Henry McLeish, who had made the bid almost a personal crusade, was unable to hide his disappointment at losing out on the bid.

But he welcomed the news that the tournament will be coming to Gleneagles four years later.

He said: "I set out to get the Ryder Cup to Scotland. We have done that, albeit four years later. But we will still get the fantastic benefits to the economy, to tourism and to golf."

McLeish defended the decision to make an all-Scotland bid involving a choice of four courses, and added that he had been aware since April last year that there were those opposed to the Scottish bid.

He said: "In terms of golf ours was the best bid.

"The world of golf may have some searching questions to pose to the committee."

Doubts about the fairness of the selection process were raised after it was reported that the three European Tour representatives on the Ryder Cup committee, including tour director Ken Schofield, had come out in favour of the Celtic Manor bid by Wales.

The Celtic Manor course is to be massively altered to bring it up to standard - and the pounds 12million job went to a company owned by the European Tour. SNP MSP Mike Russell has tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament calling for a full inquiry into the failure of the bid.

And Tory MSP Brian Monteith has tabled a motion calling for legal action to recover money spent on the deal.

He said Tory Euro MP Struan Stevenson would be investigating over the weekend and would ask European Commissioners to launch an inquiry into the selection process.

The Bank of Scotland, which underwrote the bid, and invested heavily in European Tour events in Scotland, is now reconsidering its golf sponsorship.

Spokesman Alex Pagett said: "We didn't know the holder of the biggest chequebook was going to be the winner, and that appears to be the way it was played out."

In the short term, Scotland's golf tourism industry is facing up to losing millions of pounds in business as the Americans stay at home.

US golfers are cancelling what are often once-in-a-lifetime trips to the home of golf in the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Gary Wilkinson, of Aberdour-based Wilkinson Golf and Leisure, said: "We would normally be processing up to 10 inquiries a day from America and Canada, but now it is down to about five a week.

"If the Americans stay away the whole economy is going to suffer, particularly in Fife, where golf is a major attraction.

"It has been estimated that the average American golfer spends, over and above his flights, hotel room and green fees, more than pounds 200 a day on caddies, food, drinks, presents and souvenirs.

"Typically they will fly into Glasgow and want to play Troon or Turnberry, then Gleneagles before moving on to St Andrews and Carnoustie, finishing off in Aberdeen, the Moray Coast and Royal Dornoch.

"That makes them extremely valuable tourists as they spend a lot of money."