Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, and English trio Ross Fisher, Ross McGowan and Simon Dyson will all tee up in next month’s Celtic Manor Wales Open with one eye on returning for a Ryder Cup debut later in the year.
McGowan, Quiros and Dyson all lie within the current qualifying places for October’s Ryder Cup, in fourth, sixth and seventh place respectively on the European Points List, while the World Cup-winning Molinari brothers are right on the fringes. Fisher is also within striking distance of a first appearance in The Ryder Cup after winning the inaugural Volvo World Match Play title in Spain last November.
All six rising stars will be hoping to impress European Captain Colin Montgomerie at The Celtic Manor Wales Open, from June 3-6, in a tournament which is played over the same Twenty Ten Course that will stage The Ryder Cup in the autumn.
Fisher has three European Tour victories to his name and proved himself capable of challenging at the highest level by leading all four Major Championships at one stage in 2009, with his best finish coming at The Open Championship where he took fifth spot.
McGowan only turned professional at the end of 2006 and burst to prominence last season by winning the Madrid Masters and collecting an even bigger big pay cheque for finishing second to Lee Westwood at the Dubai World Championship.
Dyson is another of the leading lights in a current resurgence for English golf and underlined his credentials with his biggest tournament victory to date at the 2009 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the latest of four career wins.
Quiros hauled himself back into the current Ryder Cup qualifying spots with victory on home soil in April’s Open de Espana. The winner of four European Tour events in all, Quiros has also been the longest hitter in the driving averages for the past three years.
Celtic Manor Resort Chief Executive Dylan Matthews said: “It’s great to have so much exciting young talent playing in this year’s Celtic Manor Wales Open.
“We are very fortunate to have an outstanding crop of European players coming through at the moment and I’m sure many of them will be pressing their claims for a Ryder Cup debut later in the year. This is a great opportunity for golf fans to see these stars in tournament action.”
Other potential Ryder Cup debutants teeing up in The Celtic Manor Wales Open include England’s Nick Dougherty, Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez- Castano, Sweden’s Peter Hanson and Wales’ own Rhys Davies and Bradley Dredge. They will contest the £1.8m prize fund with established Ryder Cup stars like Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, Oliver Wilson, David Howell and Thomas Bjorn.
The tournament is staged for the 11th time this summer and former winners include Ryder Cup players Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Ian Poulter, Paul Lawrie and Paul McGinley.
As well as top class sporting action at one of The European Tour’s leading events, The Celtic Manor Wales Open also offers spectators the chance to enjoy family attractions in the tented village and provides a great value, full day out. Children Under-16 enjoy free entry if accompanied by an adult.
