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"professional golf at it's most captivating" Shame, shame, shame on you fore you're apauling grammer!

Perhaps the most important difference is that in late August, you have more daylight hours to make up for any lost time.

Hopefully the PGA Tour gets the hint from this and moves the FedEx Cup to later in the year in 2014. Assuming it lasts that long.

Or will it take similar conditions in the US venue for 2012 for this to happen?

Totally agree with your comments Iain.
When I saw the dates for this years event I remember saying to myself "weather permitting".
It's no surprise its been delayed this time and if the dates aren't amended you can bank on a Monday finish at Gleneagles as well in 2014.
Celtic Manor's a great place but it is in a valley right next to a river so they were always going to be up against it.
I doubt they will get much play today and finishing tomorrow during the working week could unfortunately be a anti-climax ??
Great coverage on 5live though as always ..... saves me from the awful insular 'padding' on Sky's coverage zzzz!

there is no chance of the pga tour moving the fed ex cup and why should they to. the fed ex cup is here to stay as its been an excellent addition to the already brilliant pga tour.

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The Fedex Cup is a complete nonsense with its obtuse scoring system and its limited fields - and yet it takes precedence in the schedule - it's as if Fedex are trying to buy a new major! I don't think it will last!

Iain Carter,
You could have made the point with much fewer words and less repetition. Please be a bit more concise next time.

Trying to get cover for work tomorrow! Was on my way up this morning, when with the weather being so bad thought sod this for a game of soldiers. This was always going to be Russian Roulette and the thought of waiting and the train station for several hours only to be told to go home did not appeal, and at the time looked like the only outcome.

Chose to buy tickets for today to see a winner, not a few games possibly be completed.

sky's coverage has been poor but they are the best golf broadcaster on this side of the pond and they really support the game of the golf all year round.
5live are good but clare balding shouting after every holed european putt is so annoying its untrue. not sure what qualifies her as a golf expert. when i listen or watch golf coverage im expecting to be informed by someone who is respected in the game

The Fedex Cup is a complete nonsense with its obtuse scoring system and its limited fields - and yet it takes precedence in the schedule - it's as if Fedex are trying to buy a new major! I don't think it will last!

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with respect i think you have missed the point in terms of what they are trying to achieve with the fed ex cup.

no excuses,the stupid yanks and the fake money does the talking,and anyone will know that wales,the uk in general you dont do outdoor activities in october,you will either freeze to death or drown.are they stupid or something

europe to choke,lead by kaymer(who had shocking misses after westwood put it on a plate for him).usa to nslug it out they have more strength in depth

Two days off work 4 hours traveling down to Bristol, Spent the night in a hotel. The std room had been re arranged with sofa beds to accomodate 4 adults yet the price was £200 for one nights stay. Left the hotel at 7.30am only to find the bizarre arrangements of handing over all your phones, cameras, bags etc into a tent. 30min bus journey then a 30 min congested walk down the road into celtic manor to be told on arrival that play had been suspended. After waiting 4 hours and spending £8 on a portion of fish and chips that would not have satisfied the apppetite of a 6 month old child,we were still no wiser as to the likelehood of any golf taking place due to the total lack of communication by the organisers. Faced with a 4 hour journey home we took the decision to go home at 2pm having seen no golf whatsoever for our £400 investment 13 months earlier. No chance of a refund even a partial one. It seems the fans arriving today are been treated slightly better with complimentary drinks etc. Total shambles in my opinion nothing like the proffesional running of the open for example. They must have known there was a chance this weather would be coming prior to the event so why wasn't a plan b put into place. More shelter for fans etc. Hope they have learned some lessons prior to glen eagles in 2014. Its safe to say i will be watching from home after this dreadful experience which has left me and my friends considerably out of pocket.

The timing of this years Ryder Cup Illustrates perfectly where the event features on the list of priorities.
The Fedex Cup takes precedence because the players would rather play for £10m than contest this biennial yawn.
Hopefully in time the Ryder Cup will be played every four years and we will all be spared Sky's shockingly bad coverage of the event.

paid £100 pounds for the privelage of getting soaking wet and watching three shots on the big screen, great course and venue but stupid time of the year to hold a major event.

I think the only difference in holding the cup in early october as opposed to say end of August is the shorter evenings. Lets be honest... it RAINS at any time of year in the UK and we could have had a torrential downpour in August or September.

I have to agree with this blog.

The FedEx Cup is just to arcane to understand and ergo is no fun for anyone who enjoys golf.

Both parties need to work out a common plan for this and dare I say it put aside

Mammon in preference for the spiirit and etos of the game of golf.

Anyone up in Gleneagles now? Be interesting to know what time it gets dark there. Scotland's great for long summer evenings and the inverse for winter, surely a June/July Cup is needed for 2014.

Is there not a possibility that the Ryder Cup can be held the same time as the FedEx Cup? Make the players choose; play for $10 million or your country/continent?

Is it a silly time of year to play a major golf tournament? Next week its the Dunhill Links Chammpionship in Scotland. It has always been held in October and I don't think has every gone over to the Monday. Mind you it is on the east coast so probably benefits from less rain .

Considering the number of successful Swedish players, will they ever get to host the tournament??? If so the biggest concern will probably be snow on the ground.

Am I missing something here...??? Sun is still shining in Spain, no doubt it is in Italy as well....who chooses where the Ryder should be played anyway??? As for Gleneagles, wonderful course, but I would despair anytime outside May or June :-)

seymore sheep wrote

""The Fedex Cup is a complete nonsense with its obtuse scoring system and its limited fields - and yet it takes precedence in the schedule - it's as if Fedex are trying to buy a new major! I don't think it will last!"

This is the trouble with Golf administrators they all think they can buy a new major i.e. The race to Dubai Fed Ex etc. The game is not all about money and its about time the administrators understood this.

I agree with Rory, let's develop a series of courses in southern Europe, specially for a late Ryder cup.

In America, money talks.

The FedEx Cup could quite easily be scheduled AFTER the Ryder Cup.

Anyway, how much money do these golf professionals need? $10m dollars is an obscene amount to play for, especially when there is a worldwide recession on.

October is fine, as long as the Ryder Cup is played at a venue that copes with rain. I make no apology when I say Celtic Manor was never going to be an acceptable venue in October. Having been there, played it and observed, it was always going to struggle if it rained.

Had this match been taken to say Royal Portrush then we would be watching the singles now.

Greed has ruined one of the worlds greatest events.

the fed ex cup is exciting and both the players and fans enjoy it, the system isnt perfect yet but they are tweaking it year on year. its scheduled at a specific as to coincide with the start of the NFL season if they have the fed ex cup later on in the year then its ratings will be severely affected and like the EPL footballl the pga tour is heavily involved with its TV contracts.
$10m is obscene but the players have openly admitted that they dont expect the same level when the contract is renewed as all these figures were put in place before the economic meltdown.

Its Wales it rains a lot full stop.

it rains every where in the UK in october not just in Wales.. Some of these comments are ridiculous. Any golf course would struggle with the amount of rain that we have had and i think it is testament to the staff at the manor how well the course is playing and the fact there has been any golf at all. True golf fans stick around and wait for it to start, the manor can not cater for everyone in terms of shelter, its a golf course not glastonbury. the fact of the matter is this has been a great ryder cup and the standard of golf has been outstanding. as for the idiot who said the manor would always struggle, thats completely not the case, I am a member there and i dont know what your on about, if it was always an issue it would have not been awarded the Ryder Cup. I am not surprised one bit that there are people whinging on here, its a great event and its in the UK so be proud and lay off the moaning

Sorry Iain, I am going to have to disagree with you somewhat especially when major sporting events are held in this country. Whether it is Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, England Cricket Matches against the likes of India, South Africa or Australia or Golf Tournaments there are always going to be days when rain affect these great tournaments. This years Ryder Cup tournament was affected by a freak of a storm, not because the event was scheduled later in the year than normally held.

Despite the inclement weather and the rescheduling of the fourballs, foursome and the singles play, the standard of play by both sets of teams has been brillinat and the crowd support outstanding. I am hoping that Eurpe prevail.

great point made by alun rees

'This years Ryder Cup tournament was affected by a freak of a storm, not because the event was scheduled later in the year than normally held.'

A freak storm?! No that kind of weather is kind of typical for this time of year. It was a strong rainstorm, not some hurricane. These are not uncommon in south wales.

@Dicko,

Spot on, this farce has less to do with rain than the abysmal choice of venue. You expect rain in the UK in October therefore you pick a course with excellent drainage. The Celtic Manor was not the right choice!

We have been known to have rain in Scotland in July for the Open. The problem is in fitting the Ryder Cup in among the tournament schedule for the year.

As a Welshman I am disgusted that our Notional Assembly has spent tens of millions of pounds on the Ryder Cup and justified it by arguing that it will be a great, global advert for Wales. (But, then, our Assembly's approach to managing Wales is very much ' bread and circuses'.)
All these buffoons have achieved is to tell those who didn't already know that it rains a lot in Wales. D'oh!

Fantastic venue and thrilling golf. However I have watched live golf on many occasions and witnesses Monty's antics on the course. Rude to fans on a regular basis and a very arrogant man. Why oh why pick him as captain! He even claims the winning putt in a previous Ryder Cup which had already been taken by another team member! All TV/Radio presenters seem to hero worship Monty which puts a dampner on the whole competition. I am not the only golf fan who doesnt understand the Monty fan club.Nevertheless come on Europe!!!

"Fantastic venue" - so great that most of us will be working rather than watching during the finale.

Yes. What a great pity that the organisers decided to change the date of the Ryder Cup to October.. a week later than usual. A week earlier and the weather would have been great. Hopefully future RCs in Britain will be earlier but poor old Wales had to be the fallguy. However at least there will be an extra day and the Welsh RC will be remembered for that!!
Brian Stacey
Newport

1. At 12:39pm on 03 Oct 2010, BIGJERRYOK wrote:
"professional golf at it's most captivating" Shame, shame, shame on you fore you're apauling grammer!

Is that the best comment you can come up with? Are you even a golf fan?

Can someone please explain why the Ryder cup is only played in the
UK? when it says Europe vs USA.

All TV/Radio presenters seem to hero worship Monty which puts a dampner on the whole competition. I am not the only golf fan who doesnt understand the Monty fan club.Nevertheless come on Europe!!!

-----

cant stand him either

40. At 6:41pm on 03 Oct 2010, bbinc wrote:
Can someone please explain why the Ryder cup is only played in the
UK? when it says Europe vs USA.

Check the history:

Can someone please explain why the Ryder cup is only played in the
UK? when it says Europe vs USA.

It was held in Valderrama, Spain in '97, and the K Club in Ireland in 2006.

The 2018 RC is due to be held on mainland Europe, with 5 countries fighting for it (France, Spain, Portugal, Holland and Germany).

have I missed something here ?
are spain and ireland now in the uk?

the fix is to copy the ashes!!!! June/July over here, Dec/Jan over there??

SIMPLE!!

The Ryder Cup is a great competition. It deserves our wholehearted support. Let it be staged in Spain, Italy, Sweden, even the UK and Republic of Ireland - in October! I have two comments: No matter how rich you are, representing your country is an honour most sportsmen still aspire to. Second, is a plea to Sky TV. Thank you for your regular golf coverage, it is invaluable. But, please do not go the way of American broadcasting and bow to the might dollar. Too many adverts, too many so-called experts. Today, for example, the Mollinari's were on the 18th. They were fighting for a half, but what did Sky do - take an ad break, then missed Cink's important putt. Please put the veiwer first.

28. At 4:42pm on 03 Oct 2010, Rulechangecrazy wrote:
Its Wales it rains a lot full stop.
-----------------------------------------------------

mate im from wales and you are right we do get a lot of rain. what is particulary frustrating in this instance though is that there was a one week break in the fed ex cup before the final tournament, the tour championship. if they had played the tour championship a week earlier and therefore had the ryder cup a week earlier it was absolutely glorious all weekend last week. i know that you cannot predict that but why have an unnecessary break, when the ryder cup has had to be pushed back this late already?

And to post #13: if you think that the ryder cup is a "biennial yawn" then you dont like golf in my opinion. it is a fantastic sporting event, played just for glory and not for money. what true sport is all about.

Well done, Iain. Spot on. Finchem competes against the Ryder Cup, don't let's forget it.
For those who say that you can't legislate for weather, the message here is that you CAN legislate for daylight. Half an hour each day would have made the world of difference.
And for those who say it wouldn't happen in Spain: it was interesting listening to Tom Kite talking yesterday about the delays he had to deal with in Valderama.
Fantastic event; for so many of us simply the greatest event in all of sport.

Mizuno Mark spot on; I have been to all the major sports events around the world and many golf tournaments; this was the worst organised, at least on day one; the park and ride abysmal, the queue dreadfully slow (2 hours even from 6-15AM), the security ridiculous,e.g. no rucksacks, the drop off point for the bus terminal terrible; with the weather forecast why not take everyone to the tented village/clubhouse rather than the 13th hole esp knowing you had little prospect of golf there just leaving a horrible long trek to action/village etc in dreadful conditions; never again!!!

Err yes and no. I love the Ryder Cup and am astonished how well an average golf course (I have played it) has turned out so well. I accept the Fed Ex Cup has screwed the scheduling of this event, that is nobody'd fault in Europe. However, as I have said many many times on this page, the decision to go to Wales was driven by cash and not quality. I accept Terry Mathews is a committed guy who wanted the best but, and this is the cold hard facts, Celtic Manor has never taken water. Never, nor will it. It is a golf course on the floor of a valley. In Wales. The European Tour made a financial decision, they wanted as much cash as they could possibly get. In doing so they saw the world with silver dollars in their eyes. What they got is what they were always going to get. Delay. Washout. Mud.
Remember, they could have had Turnberry, Loch Lomond. I say again. Loch Lomond. Now It has been raining in the West of Scotland, but I guarantee you there would have been no delay at Loch Lomond, simply because of where it is. My point is the past is the past but there has to be balance in decision making. Celtic Manor has done a fantastic job, it really has. But, it was never going to work the minute the decision was made because with all the money in the world you cannot change the weather. My concern is that after Gleneagles we may never see a return of the Ryder Cup again to these shores. That would be an absolute disaster. And it began in Wales..

50 - your comments all made sense until you suggested Loch Lomond - a course built on a bog, where the water table is so high that the course is closed for almost half the year!

Absolutely ridiculous decision to go to Wales in October. If the most prestigious of competitions has to be played in October (why?) then it has to be in Spain or Portugal. Let's get out of this mentality of it having to be in the UK or Ireland or else have it in the summer (if indeed we get one).

47 - the top, players understandably don't normally want to play more than 3 consecutive weeks so they definitely wouldn't play 5.

flooch, you could be right. But. It is close half the year because of the bizarre membership and club structure. It does drain very well though, as does the Carrick next door. It would, in my humble opinion be far far better than a valley floor. I have played Loch Lomond many times in very poor weather. It takes the water very well. But. I could be very wrong..

Am i missing something or did it only rain in Newport this weekend? as for drainage the course held up magnificently as for public areas being wet and muddy what do you expect with 50,000 people following only 4 to 6 matches,as for time of year are people forgetting cricket,tennis and open golf being interupted in FLAMING June?

FedEx finals reduce the finalists from 150 at each of its successive finals stages down to 30 on the final 4 day competition, so to stage the FedEx finals in Oct would be far less of a time problem than has been seen at Celtic Manor this week. If the Americans take the Ryder Cup seriously and ever want a shot at winning on this side of the pond, they should allow space in their Sept schedule. Otherwise all the Europeans have to do is keep it in the norhern zones of Europe and the weather will always be the factor it has been this week.

'security ridiculous,e.g. no rucksacks'

I'm glad the security was ridiculous. We have been reminded today about how serious the terrorist threat to the UK is and an event between Europe and America is a high profile target.

So WELL DONE to the organisers on this.

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For the love of God listen to the majority of you, I have no interest in Golf what so ever, I am pleased as a Welshman that this tourniment has come to our shores. I feel for the people who have paid good, honest money to come to Newport and watch the Ryder Cup and have so far been dissappointed but please do you want this game to be played indoors? The organisers have chosen the venue deal with it, do you honestly think that the players are one bit bothered about it going to a 4th day? Get behind your continent tommorrow and lets hope for a good day of golf, the forecast is good, but who knows its all in the hands of the Gods. This Ryder Cup will be remembered for some of the wrong reasons, but not by the winning team or the majority of their supporters.

Iain... come back down to earth. It's just a golf match. So what if it finishes on Monday and the millionairre golfers have to play in the same conditions as the rest of us for once. We don't need to change a single thing.

58. At 9:32pm on 03 Oct 2010, U14585379 wrote:
The Ryder Cup should not be held in a 3rd world country forever in Englands shadow. Wales have let Europe down

It wasn't held in England you bigot, Sadly your "point" shows England and some of its citizens as being the only 3rd world country in Europe - culture, outlook and education-wise

Get a bit of sense will you. Even the world's "premier" nation of England cannot control the weather, nor the timing of an international tournament

Why was Newport in South Wales chosen as a venue for the Ryder Cup? Could it be something to do with money? Lots of it. The chappie who paid for the Celtic Manor (I can't remember his name) is a billionaire.

If I were a billionaire who cared about getting the Ryder Cup to be played here in Penge in South London, I daresay I could do so if I held up a wad of notes big enough, and waved it under the noses of those who make such decisions. Or am I just an old romantic?

I for one would like to have seen the final day on TV. Congratulations to the organisers for cocking it up for most of us.

Loch Lomond GC did have problems with drainage and is pretty snooty about visitors, not an ideal venue IMHO.

What a complete load of twaddle Iain.

1. The European Tour has shared the Ryder Cup 50/50 with the PGA for as long as I can remember. I seriously doubt that the PGA has sold it 50% share in the event as it is one of it's major sources of income. If I am wrong I apologise.

2. I once played a tournament in St.Annes in July and it was cancelled because of waterlogged greens and fairways.....and that's a links course which is basically just sand so it drains like a sieve. My point is that bad weather can strike at any time and on any continent.

3. How many times has the British Open had a Monday finish?? Lots and that's in midsummer.

4. Both the US and Europe have destinations where good weather can normally be found in October. Why do they not use those states or countries more often? In the case of Europe, the country chosen is a payback for the contribution of it's golfers. The first non-UK RC was in Spain thanks to Ballesteros, Olazabal, Rivero, Pinero, Canizares etc. Then Ireland and now Wales...both of which have contributed to European success. I am sure that this will continue in the future.

This blog was a poorly thought out swipe at the establishment pandering to Joe Public's simplistic view that October in Wales is asking for disaster......really. Is a Monday finish such a sacrifice. Personally, I congratulate all involved, it has been a wonderful RC and hopefully tomorrow will bring a European Victory.

I hope it doesn't sound like I don't count Wales as part of the UK....of course it is along with Eng, Sco and NI.

Apologies.

For those who mentioned the "poor" drainage (#33 Fairplaymotty) don't know what they are talking about...Celtic manor has excellent drainage and groundstaff. Did you see how quickly it drained and became playable once it stopped raining? Do you know that 2" of rain is the equivalent of 1 million gallons of water over the 35 hectares of that course?....I didn't think so.

Has everyone forgotten that 4 years ago at the 'K' Club in Ireland there was serious disruption also, fortunately mostly in the practice rounds but it was still there.

Well said lionelair #61. U14585379 is completely xenophobic. I don't see why he thinks England are so great anyway...

I have to agree with post #2.
Somewhere, I suspect, somebody is profoundly ignorant of how the daylight and seasons change in the UK. Scotland even more so than England and Wales.

The weather can be awful in July, but the days are so long that you can wait, with a good expectation of still getting the job done.

Having it in October runs the risk of making the organizers look like Scott on his way to the South-Pole, or Napoleon (and the Wehrmacht) on their way to Moscow.

Comments 30 and 34 have it spot on I'm afraid, Iain. It's Britain in September - it gets a bit wet sometimes, get over it (and yourself).

So the Ryder Cup usually takes place in September, and this year it started on... the 1st day of October - the weather we've seen this week didn't happen because we turned over our calendars on Friday morning; it's such an absurd argument. I haven't been in Wales recently but I'd imagine they probably had a fair few days like Friday and Sunday in July and August this year, let alone September.

And as #34 touches on, scenes of howling gales and driving rain are not uncommon at the Open, in mid-July - does that only happen because of some lamentable scandal of scheduling in the days of the golfing pioneers?

No, it's the British climate, in which golf has been played by battle-hardened amateurs and well-groomed pro's alike for decades. What kind of golfer are you if you're not up for the age-old battle?

IC.....if the weather was good, you'd be complaining that we weren't taking advantage of our strengths by playing in poor weather or on links courses.....what a load of rubbish.

I'd just like to agree with the people who have commented on the poor coverage by Sky. Too many adverts, too many silly slow motion replays of nothing that was interesting in real time, too much waxing uncritical of issues like this being delayed until October, too much of the same unimaginitive filler items, and most importantly, far too little actual golf, and not because of the weather. Whoever's sitting in the director's chair needs to have a word with themselves. The bottom game was posted missing for about two hours while I think I watched live coverage of players overreading putts for about four and half years. Poor.

why do you put a damper on what is a great event, instead why not be more positive, praise the officials for getting us this far, praise all the hard working VOLUNTEERS out there getting soaked while you, no doubt sit in your nice warm dry media pavilion. Give credit to the thousands of spectators who turned up to help make The Ryder Cup this great sporting event,and last but not least the players for playing wonderful golf in such trying conditions, I never heard any of them complain. So what if it was moved to mid summer ? that is no guarantee of uninterrupted play, surely you remember Wimbledon, in blazing June/July, being washed out, having to play on rest days to catch up, and only this year the USA Open Tennis washed out and had to run into an extra day and that was in the middle of an New York September heat wave. No one is blaming Wales it could happen anywhere at just about any time of year. The Ryder Cup has been going since 1927 apart from war years and 911 and it has never once before had to run into an extra day...Not such a bad record is it Ian.

@Matt, #36: "He even claims the winning putt in a previous Ryder Cup which had already been taken by another team member!"

Firstly, I've never seen him "claim" anything. Secondly, being dormy 2-up means nothing the Ryder Cup. You could still be disqualified (for instance if you are found to have too many clubs in your bag) or could fail to finish the round for some reason. So Montgomerie did hole the putt to win the Ryder Cup (twice - once in 1997 when he halved with Scott Hoch, then again in 2004). But I guess if you don't like the guy, then you don't like the guy.

As for the cup itself, I hope the weather doesn't detract from the quality of golf, and I hope the Ryder Cup continues to grow as a spectacle. Going to the most suitable courses at the most suitable times (rather than the courses with wealthy backers at a time set by American TV deals) would be a good start. Most of the reactions from both sets of players tells me both teams want to play in this tournament, and the crowds on both sides of the Atlantic suggest the public support it too.

If a sunny successful Ryder Cup in Wales was going to bring in millions in tourism, has the reality cost Wales lost millions?

"For those who mentioned the "poor" drainage (#33 Fairplaymotty) don't know what they are talking about...Celtic manor has excellent drainage and groundstaff."

Great drainage does not equate with having to wait many hours after rain to play golf. You're just wrong I'm afraid.

Firstly I'm from Ireland and I know a lot about playing golf in the rain!My course which cost's less than 900 a year to join,collects water on fairways,greens and bunkers pretty much like celtic manor did on friday and sunday,but as soon as the rain stops the water disappears...is this good drainage too?I was under the impression spending millions on good drainage meant that you would'nt have too stop play?As for the timing of the event,I think we should just get on with it,the fed ex cup is in my humble opinion a complete waste of time,a sport like golf already has four majors,Ryder Cup,Presidents Cup etc we dont need a gimmic like that.But its here now so we gotta deal with it.

Apparently the European players could give two hoots about the FedEx cup and the massive prize that comes with it.

Obviously Monty has been watching Burt Lancaster films and doing his rain dance while his merry elf team of vice captains poked pin holes in the Yanks' rain gear.

I expect you to take my comments as seriously as I took your article. Newport gets, on average, twelve dry days a year. Every season there are events on the US tour that finish on Monday due to weather delays. Big deal, get over it and enjoy the golf. Or, put a roof on all future venues like the All England club did on Centre Court. There's dumb and there's dumber.

I grew up just outside Newport and know the area around the Celtic Manor course very well. It's extremely unfair and inaccurate to blame the course for the delays. The drainage there is good and as has been pointed out, the water on the course cleared very quickly. To put it in context, just look out of your front door and imagine what 2 inches of rain would do....you'd probably be down to B&Q to get your own Ark building kit.

The issue isnt the course its the political nonsense that called for it to be staged in October. In northern Europe! If that decision is not reversed for 2014 then Gleneagles could face similar problems, after which, no more RC in the UK.

Ironically, only US player pressure can fix this. Let's hope they opt to think country first and chequing account second.

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ARROGANCE AND LACK OF IMAGINATION,

IT WON'T HELP THE ATMOSPHERE TO HAVE TINY GALLERIES ON MONDAY. WORTH A HOLE PER MATCH TO THE AMERICANS. WHO MADE THE DECISION ON WHO TO LET IN ON MONDAY? COREY PAVIN?

TO LET IN THE POOR FRIDAY TICKET HOLDERS SHOULD BE A NO-BRAINER, EVEN IF THEY HAVE MADE SOME EXCESSIVE SECURITY COMMITMENTS TO OUR WORRIED AMERICAN FRIENDS.

SOMETHING MORE SHOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. SUCH AS ENTRY AT THE DOOR FOR £20 WITH PASSPORT ID AFTER 11.00 UNTIL FULL.

IT MAKES ME ASHAMED TO BE WELSH/BRITISH.

some of these comments are pathetic.. If English courses are so great, then why has it only been at the Belfry twice in the last 17 years. We live in the UK it rains a lot end of. They said that yesterday was on of the greatest ryder cup days, for the golf that was played, the course and the atmosphere. It is always going to be the case that you cant please every one. As for someone saying Wales is a 3rd world country, that is extremely disappointing, I mean if England are so superior why is the next home Ryder Cup there. Also the decisions made in terms of Golf, Admission etc are made by The European tour group and not the Celtic Manor, hence why they interviewed the Tournament Referee not Sir Terry Matthews.

It is making me so angry that Wales is getting the blame for this. It is totally unfair and ridiculous. Was it not raining all over the UK on Friday and most other parts on the weekend? If the Ryder Cup had been held in almost any course in the UK it would have suffered the same fate! How many times have Wimbledon suffered disruptions and that is in June? I don’t hear people complaining then that it shouldn’t be played in South East England? Cricket has suffered similar disruptions too as well as other major sporting events. Weather is totally unpredictable in the UK especially and it was sheer bad luck. In the UK rain can hit at any time not just Wales. Can your minds back to the summer floods in 2007 which affected England more than anywhere else in the UK. Agree that there are more daylight hours earlier in the year but as for the weather - bad weather can hit anywhere at anytime.

Rain in October is to be expected in most of the UK esp Wales and Scotland. I have been listening to the radio (Local to S-Wales)over most of the weekend and am generally annoyed that Most Newport schools where closed to ease traffic along with schools in east Cardiff. Now on Monday there is very little in reported traffic delays. I feel aggrieved that the Celtic manor has seen fit to grossly over charge its captive audience for food and the hot drinks that would of been despicably needed over this most autumnal weekend. (Not a good advert for this friendly if poor part of Wales)
If the Ryder cup want good weather then they have 2 options. Go south or go earlier in the year.

Well done to our team on our victory and congratulations to them all. In the end Graham McDowell was outstanding in every respect and Lee Westwood and Luke Donald weren't far behind. A great result and I have enjoyed listening to 5 live today so thanks for the coverage.

I would be grateful if you could stop some of your colleagues from the Monty-fest they are on. Congratulate him as Captain as I do but please some of it is overboard, he did after all pick the underperforming Harrington.

To say that Monty was more likely to win a major than McDowell demains everyone involved... Of course it is also factually wrong.

If it hadn't been for that good Welsh rain falling on Gods own country, we might not have had such a thrilling finale so it's not all bad, and given that half the European team comprised of British golfers, they're probably used to playing in the rain.

Maybe we should all be praying for rain in Gleneagles in 4 years time.....

Great drama once again but pity about the weather. Whilst looking forward to Gleneagles in four years time there must be doubts as to the capability of the UK to host the event at this time of year. Crikey I can recall working at Gleneagles at a couple of Scottish Opens in July and both years play was suspended because of torrential rain and waterlogging.........Perthshire is a rainy place at the best of times. I think the European Tour will have to consider southern Europe going forward.

I'm furious the Ryder Cup wasn't held in England, where its always sunny and blisteringly hot. Just over the Severn Bridge in Bristol it was over 50 degrees celsius and they experienced 17 hours of sunshine, whereas in Wales it hasn't stopped raining since 1958.

Can I ask a question?
even with all the terrible weather the event was finished in 4 days.
why not start the competition 1 day earlier and then you can almost guarantee a sunday finish, simples..