First day of Wales Open washed out
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Your support makes all the difference.They have, almost literally, moved heaven and earth here to bring the Ryder Cup to Wales, but the one thing Sir Terence Matthews cannot control is the weather. Yesterday only six players completed a hole in the first round of the Wales Open before Wentwood Hills and the Usk Valley became waterlogged.
Play was suspended for the day and if there is no further rain the 72-hole tournament will be condensed into three days – 18 holes today, 18 tomorrow and 36 on Sunday, reducing the halfway cut to 50 plus ties.
Today, weather permitting, Matthews, the billionaire owner of the Celtic Manor resort, will fly the Ryder Cup committee in a helicopter over what he hopes will be the venue for the match against the United States in the next available slot, 2009.
Matthews, who was knighted for being a key component in the electronics industry, has spent more than £100m converting this site from farmland into one of Europe's premier resorts. Whether it will host the Ryder Cup remains to be seen. He faces competition from a number of Scottish courses, including Gleneagles.
Matthews says he will "spare nothing'' in making his bid "irresistible'' and is spending another £12m in a course redesign including a new clubhouse. Seven new holes will be laid, and two others modified.
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