Golf: McKenzie’s Twenty Ten vision for the elite of Europe

Apr 25 2008 by Anthony Woolford, Western Mail

CELTIC MANOR’S director of golf Jim McKenzie is relishing the prospect of Europe’s elite tackling the new 2010 Ryder Cup course at next month’s Wales Open.

The event has been cranked up a few notches since Richard Sterne’s win over the Roman Road course last summer.

Prize money has gone up £300,000 to £1.8m while the Celtic Manor’s new Twenty Ten course will come into play for the first time.

And there’s also the small matter of Open champion Padraig Harrington making his debut in the event.

“We are all very excited about this year’s tournament with the move to the new course,” said McKenzie.

“Adding a player of Padraig Harrington’s stature to the field will only heighten that sense of anticipation and it will be fantastic for the fans to watch the reigning Open champion up close.

“We’d love to see a first Welsh winner here at the Celtic Manor Resort and Bradley Dredge gave us so much to be proud of with his challenge for the title in 2007.

“We’ll all be rooting for him to go one better this year.

“We know many more of the world’s top players will also be coming back to challenge for the title and to plot their way around a course where they hope to be competing as part of a Ryder Cup team in 2010.”

The new Twenty Ten course has been built with the matchplay drama of the Ryder Cup in mind, with the 18th hole a particular examination for the Wales Open leaders come Sunday afternoon being a reachable par five with a protective moat guarding a raised green.