With just a week to go until Gleneagles welcomes The 2014 Ryder Cup, the glare of the golfing world will this week be on the last European venue to host the biennial contest, as four of Paul McGinley’s team tee it up in the ISPS Handa Wales Open presented by The Celtic Manor Resort.
Welshman Jamie Donaldson will be joined by Denmark’s Thomas Björn, Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher and Englishman Lee Westwood in Newport, with the quartet hoping to sharpen their games before taking on the United States in Scotland.
Westwood was part of the European team which regained The Ryder Cup at The Celtic Manor Resort four years ago under the stewardship of Colin Montgomerie, while Björn was a vice captain for that contest and was joint runner-up in ISPS Handa Wales Open two years later, behind Thongchai Jaidee.
Gallacher returns to action for the first time since finishing third in the 71° OPEN D'ITALIA Presented by DAMIANI, a performance that helped earn him one of Paul McGinley’s captain’s picks, alongside Westwood and Ian Poulter.
For Donaldson, the highest placed out of the four on The Race to Dubai in third position, it promises to be a special week, with the home favourite certain to receive a warm reception from the Welsh galleries as he prepares to make his Ryder Cup debut next week.
The 38 year old Pontypridd-born player has three top ten finishes in ten appearances in his national Open, and will be bidding to become the event’s first home winner as the tournament marks its 15th anniversary.
Defending champion is Frenchman Grégory Bourdy, who produced a brilliant finish last year to capture his fourth European Tour title.
Bourdy birdied the closing three holes, including making a 30ft putt on the last, to finish two strokes clear of American Peter Uihlein.
“It was an amazing finish last year, with three amazing putts,” he said. “I’ve some amazing memories of that course, so it will be great to go back. I’ve been waiting for it for a few weeks now because I’ve not played that great, so hopefully it will help inspire me.”
Also in the field this week is Paul Casey, winner of last week’s KLM Open, and the trio of Ross Fisher, Edoardo Molinari and Francesco Molinari, all of whom were Ryder Cup team-mates alongside Westwood at The Celtic Manor Resort in 2010.
