Three-time Major Champion Eager to Play Twenty Ten Course
Before 2010 Ryder Cup
(NEWPORT, Wales) – The Celtic Manor Resort – host of golf’s 2010 Ryder Cup and premier luxury retreat less than two hours outside London – announces three-time major champion Padraig Harrington will play in the Celtic Manor Wales Open, June 3-6.
The 38-year-old Irishman has played in each of the last five Ryder Cups and is likely to be one of the linchpins on Colin Montgomerie’s squad. Harrington joins former Ryder Cup teammate Luke Donald in the field. Montgomerie believes competing in the $2.66 million tournament will give potential members of his team an advantage when it comes to facing the Americans in October.
“I want to make every effort to keep Colin happy,” says Harrington. “Obviously I’m trying to make sure I qualify straight-out for the team. I want to be part of that team and being part of that team means throughout the year you’ve got to make your effort and gel with your teammates.”
Fellow members of the 2008 Ryder Cup team, Graeme McDowell and Oliver Wilson, are also entered and vying for a first prize of $444,000. Any European player following in the footsteps of Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Ian Poulter by taking the title will stake a strong claim for a place on Montgomerie’s team.
Harrington became the first European since Paul Lawrie in 1999 to win a major when he claimed the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 2007. He successfully defended at Royal Birkdale in 2008 before adding the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills a month later.
The world’s No. 12 ranked golfer, Harrington currently holds one of the automatic qualifying places for this year’s Ryder Cup team. He has won 14 times on the European Tour as well as two events on the PGA TOUR.
Despite missing the cut in his previous appearance two years ago, Harrington says, “I quite like the course at Celtic Manor, it’s an interesting course and it’s a golf course I think I can do well on. I didn’t have a good run the last time I played it but I wouldn’t mind having another crack at that one.”
For more information or tickets, visit www.walesopen.com or call +44 01633 410318.
About the Celtic Manor Wales Open
The Celtic Manor Wales Open was the first European Tour event to be staged in Wales for a decade when Steen Tinning won the inaugural event in 2000. Prize money has more than doubled in the 10 years since with a roll call of champions which includes Ryder Cup stars Paul Lawrie, Paul McGinley, Ian Poulter, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Robert Karlsson. The championship was held on the Wentwood Hills course from 2000-2004 before switching to the Celtic Manor Resort’s Roman Road course from 2005 to 2007 as work was carried out on the new Twenty Ten Course.
The Twenty Ten, the first course ever to be purpose built to host the Ryder Cup, took over the staging of the Celtic Manor Wales Open from 2008. The Celtic Manor Wales Open strives to offer visitors more than just a golf tournament and sumptuous hospitality provision has been complemented by a tented village of attractions for all spectators to enjoy.
About Celtic Manor Resort
Located less than two hours outside London, Celtic Manor Resort will host golf’s 2010 Ryder Cup and is the UK’s foremost luxury retreat. Featuring 1,400-plus acres of panoramic parkland and wooded hills, it is recognized as the “Gateway to Wales.”
A popular destination among business and leisure travelers, golf-tour operators and corporate incentive agents, five-star Celtic Manor offers myriad amenities. These include three championship golf courses (the Twenty Ten, Roman Road and Montgomerie), two lavish hotels (the majestic, 330-room Resort Hotel and historic, 70-room Manor House), five savory restaurants, two tranquil spas and state-of-the-art health clubs, a golf academy and miles of hiking trails. A convention center, exhibition hall, array of well-appointed suites, meeting rooms and large ballrooms are also available to host groups up to 1,500 for conferences, weddings and other special events.
Celtic Manor is privately owned by founder Sir Terry Matthews, the Ottawa, Canada-based telecommunications entrepreneur who was born on the Celtic Manor site when the original Manor House was a maternity hospital.
For more information call 866.789.5779 (U.S.) / 877.354.2003 (Canada) or visit www.celtic-manor.com.
Getting There: Celtic Manor is 45 minutes from Bristol International Airport (BRS) and Cardiff International Airport (CWL). Daily, non-stop flights are available from Newark, New Jersey (EWR) to Bristol on Continental; and daily, one-stop flights are from New York (JFK) to Cardiff on KLM via Amsterdam. London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is a two-hour shuttle, with rail service from Paddington Station (London) to Newport, Wales also available.
Contact:
Stephen Reynolds
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3509
sreynolds@buffalocommunications.com
www.buffalocommunications.com
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David Wood
Buffalo Communications
703.635.0577
dwood@buffalocommunications.com
