US golfers fly in for Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor

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The American golf stars who will take on Europe in the 2010 Ryder Cup are flying into south Wales.

The US team, lead by captain Corey Pavin, fly into Cardiff International Airport at 1100 BST.

Pavin and European captain Colin Montgomerie will give joint news conferences at the airport and later at the Celtic Manor Resort at Newport.


Their arrival will see the build-up to the three-day tournament mount significantly before Friday's tee-off.

The event will place Wales in the spotlight with a huge worldwide audience tuning in to see Tiger Woods and other golf superstars compete for the biennial title.

Among the many international visitors in south Wales for the competition will be the Prince of Wales and the European Commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso.

Prince Charles will have lunch with the two team captains and undertake a tour the Celtic Manor golf course on Wednesday, the last practice day.

Former First Minister Rhodri Morgan said the Ryder Cup was an "amazing partnership"

He will also attend a dinner at Cardiff Castle, where all 24 team members will also be present.

Meanwhile, home-grown international entertainment stars Dame Shirley Bassey, Catherine Zeta Jones and Catherine Jenkins will take part in a Welcome to Wales concert at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Wednesday, when the prince will also be in the audience.

But the week will not be all about celebrities.

On Tuesday golf professionals will hand out free lessons to spectators at the Celtic Manor course.

Gareth Lewis, manager of coach education and the PGA in Wales, believes the PGA Game Improvement Centre, will be among the most popular attractions at Celtic Manor.

"We've assembled a fantastic line-up of coaching talent which is open to visitors of all ages and abilities to come along and have their games looked at," he said.

"It means golf fans coming to Celtic Manor can not only enjoy the drama of seeing the likes of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in action but also receive some expert tuition on their own games from some of the leading coaches in Wales."


The tournament has also also provided a bonus for thousands of children in Newport and Cardiff.

All schools in both cities are closed for an inset day on Friday, both to ease traffic congestion and give pupils a chance to watch the event.

Some 45,000 spectators are expected on each of the Ryder Cup's three competition days.

The assembly government has spent £27m on infrastructure projects associated with improving transport links to the Celtic Manor site.

Former First Minister Rhodri Morgan, who helped mastermind the bid, defended the amount of public money spent on the tournament.

"It's a unique partnership - everything on the course Terry [Sir Terry Matthews, owner of the Celtic Manor] has paid for, everything off the course we paid for.

"What we get out of it is trying to overcome this historic profile gap which has always puzzled people - why have Americans heard of Ireland, they've heard of Scotland, they've heard of England and they've never heard of Wales."

For the first time, visitors crossing the two Severn Bridges into Wales will be able to pay the toll by debit or card as temporary chip-and-pin machines have been installed.

BBC News - US golfers fly in for Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor
 
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