The £1.5 million Celtic Manor Wales Open 2004, which tees off at The Celtic Manor Resort next Thursday (June 3), has attracted a strong entry, including four members of European victorious 2002 Ryder Cup Team.
Lee Westwood of England, Scotland’’s Colin Montgomerie, Paul McGinley of Ireland and Wales’’s Phillip Price will be joined by Scot Paul Lawrie, who played at Brookline in 1999 as well as 2004 Ryder Cup hopefuls Ian Poulter and Paul Casey.
Poulter returns to The Celtic Manor Resort to defend the title he won in scorching conditions last year, equalling the record for the Wentwood Hills course with a seven under par 65 in his first round, a score bettered by two shots in the third round by Australia’’s Jarrod Moseley, who finished tied second. Poulter joins former champions McGinley (2001) and Lawrie (2002) in seeking to win the title for a second time.
Entries have also been received by a further eleven players who have taken part in The Ryder Cup Matches over the past thirty years. These are Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam, Jean Van de Velde, Barry Lane, Gordon Brand Jr, Paul Broadhurst, David Gilford, Andrew Coltart, Costantino Rocca, Joakim Haeggman and Jarmo Sandelin.
Other notable entrants to this year’’s Celtic Manor Wales Open include local favourites, Bradley Dredge and Jamie Donaldson.
Joining the members of The European Tour will be Liam Bond, from the St Pierre Golf Club in Chepstow, and John Peters, from St Mary’’s Hill Golf Club in Bridgend who were the leading professionals in The Celtic Manor Wales Open Qualifier, held at The Celtic Manor Resort on April 7. They will tee-off on Thursday 3 June alongside the best of The European Tour.
Westwood said: "I am very pleased to be able to play at The Celtic Manor Wales Open again this year. Although I made the cut in my first appearance there two years ago, my aim this year will be to play as well as I can in the first couple of rounds to put myself into real contention going into the last day.
"The Celtic Manor Wales Open is obviously an important tournament for players looking to gain as many points as possible in order to qualify to play in The Ryder Cup in September."
Price said: “The Celtic Manor Wales Open is one of the biggest events in the Welsh sporting calendar. It is always a pleasure to play the Wentwood Hills course and I’’m keen to improve on my seventh place finish last year. I was in real contention going into the final round but shot a 74 to leave myself a little short, so this year’’s ambition is to stay consistent over the full four days.”
Defending champion Poulter said: “I am really looking forward to defending my title at the The Celtic Manor Wales Open 2004. Obviously, I have great memories from last year’’s tournament but being Champion means that there’’s the added pressure of trying to retain your title to contend with. I will be trying to continue the form I showed here last year and it would be great if I could shoot another 65 or lower along the way!”
Montgomerie said: "It will be a great pleasure to return to The Celtic Manor Wales Open. I thought it was a great event last year and I’’m looking forward to a good week myself this year.”
"Last year I seemed to play well from tee to green but just couldn't sink the putts. This year, I look forward to giving myself an opportunity to play for the title on the final day."
Chairman of The Celtic Manor Wales Open, Andy Stanton said: “The field for this year’’s tournament is without doubt the strongest that we have ever had the privilege of hosting at The Celtic Manor Resort. I think that this is a reflection of the esteem in which the tournament is now held on The European Tour and presents a huge opportunity for fans from across the UK to come and view what will, I’’m sure, be a fantastic golf event”.
Owner of The Celtic Manor Resort, Sir Terry Matthews added: “As we progress towards 2010, when we will be fortunate enough to host The 38th Ryder Cup Matches, it is my aim that we continue to build the profile of The Celtic Manor Wales Open and keep attracting these very strong fields for our event. By building The Celtic Manor Wales Open into a more eminent tournament, year on year, we will go a long way to ensuring that The Ryder Cup Matches in 2010 establish a real legacy for golf in Wales and the wider UK”.
Amongst the innovations for this year’’s Celtic Manor Wales Open, the event will, for the first time, feature a Ladies’’ Day on the Saturday, designed to make the third round of the tournament even more of a social occasion than it has been in recent years. It is anticipated that Ladies' Day will attract considerable interest from personalities such as Patsy Kensit, Meg Matthews, Mica Paris, Lord of the Rings star Sean Bean and sports stars such as Will Carling and Pat Cash.
Set in more than 1,400 acres of beautiful parkland in the Usk Valley, The Celtic Manor Resort is much more than a five-star hotel. Host venue to The 2010 Ryder Cup, the resort boasts three championship golf courses, four restaurants and two health clubs, not to mention Europe’’s largest hotel health spa. Its purpose built Convention Centre is already recognised as one of the top conference venues in Europe. Celtic Manor is the perfect destination for business and leisure.
For further information on tickets for The Celtic Manor Wales Open 2004 please phone 01633 410 318 (9am - 5pm weekdays).
