Like so many sporting events, golf suffered worldwide during the Coronavirus epidemic. At a time when we could have all done with some sporting action, it was in short supply. So when we tell you golf is back, and spectators will be there to watch all the action, we have to say the excitement is pretty high around our golf loving office.
And there’s no better place to see it than the Twenty Ten course at the Celtic Manor Resort.
The CAZOO OPEN, the first event of the UK Swing, returns to the Resort later this month. The Hero Open will be played at Fairmont St Andrews in Scotland from August 5th to 8th and the Cazoo Classic will take place at London Golf Club in England from August 12th to -15th.
What is particularly nice about this event is that a limited number of tickets will be available for each of the four competition days and Wednesday’s Pro-Am to be donated to key frontline workers in recognition of their dedicated work throughout the pandemic.
Support for the event couldn’t come any bigger in the name of sport. Global football superstar Gareth Bale is backing his country’s national golf open after the four-time Champions League winner committed to becoming supporting partner of the Cazoo Open when it returns to the Celtic Manor Resort.
Gareth is no stranger to the course having played it many times, and drawing large crowds for his appearance in the Celebrity Cup.
The Wales international, who has made 96 appearances for his country and is his nation’s all-time top goal scorer, is an avid golf fan and, in partnership with his management group ICM Stellar Sports, wants to play a role in the development of professional and junior golf in Wales.
Gareth said……..
“The Cazoo Open had been away from the European Tour for a few years and, after watching the coverage last year, ICM Stellar Sports and I decided we wanted to play a part in the development of golf in Wales.”
“We want to make golf in Wales bigger and we believe that this event can play a big role in that. Hopefully we can get more people watching and grow the game of golf in Wales.
“We want to make it a real spectacle. To have the Welsh public involved would be amazing. We’ve looked at doing other things with junior golf to try and build up golf in Wales – we want to get youngsters out there to watch the players play and do as much as we can to promote it.”
Golf fans will have the opportunity to book their place at Celtic Manor Resort, with tickets for the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale on sale now.
Celtic Manor Resort hosted two consecutive events on the 2020 Race to Dubai as part of the European Tour’s UK Swing, when the Cazoo Open and Celtic Classic were played at the 2010 Ryder Cup host venue.
Gareth, who is an honorary member of the Twenty Ten Club said……..
“Celtic Manor is an incredible venue. It’s grown so much over the years; the facilities are amazing. The Twenty Ten course is hard when the rough is up and if you don’t hit many fairways. Everybody who has been there has loved playing it and it’s always a good test of golf.”
ICM Stellar Sports will also take on the role of co-promoter of the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale after signing a three-year agreement with the European Tour.
Guy Kinnings, Deputy CEO European Tour, Ryder Cup Director and Chief Commercial Officer, said……..
“Gareth is a globally-recognisable sports star and we are delighted that he has chosen to throw his support behind his country’s national golf open. We look forward to working with Gareth and ICM Stellar Sports to develop this tournament over the next few years.”
Jonathan Barnett is Executive Chairman at ICM Stellar Sports……..
“With top clients in football, rugby, athletics, American football and other sports it was always natural that we would move into golf but, as with everything we do, it was about getting the timing right. Golf is entering a new era of competitiveness and opportunity and by supporting events like the Cazoo Open we hope to see some great golf and the emergence of some great golfers.”
Romain Langasque, winner of the Amateur Championship in 2015, won the 2020 edition of the event, finishing two strokes ahead of 2020 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Sami Välimäki on eight under par. The win earned the Frenchman his first European Tour title.
Dawn Bowden, Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Welsh Government is understandably excited about the
“The involvement of a true Welsh sporting icon further cements the long-standing links between Wales and this exciting golf event. Furthermore, Gareth’s involvement will shine a spotlight on the work being undertaken to drive youngsters’ interest and increase participation in the sport which has many health and well-being benefits.”
The CAZOO OPEN runs at the Celtic Manor Resort from the 22nd to 25th July. Ticket prices start at £24 for tournament days. For full ticket details, including concession details, go here – Cazoo Open.
All tickets will be subject to our government’s health guidelines, with a comprehensive refund policy in place should spectators be unable to attend due to on-going COVID restrictions. A full FAQ can be found on the ticket page above.
The event is is also looking for volunteers to play a crucial role in the running of Wales’ national open. If you’d like more information go HERE.
Celtic Manor staged the Wales Open for 15 consecutive seasons on the European Tour. The tournament produced some unforgettable memories over those years and also strengthened the venue’s connections with the Ryder Cup.
After Denmark’s Steen Tinning won the inaugural Wales Open at the turn of the Millennium, Paul McGinley won the second tournament way back in 2001, helping him qualify for a Ryder Cup debut at The Belfry where he holed the winning putt. The Irishman went on to be involved in six of the last seven Ryder Cups as a player, vice-captain or skipper – and he won every single one of them, culminating in his impeccable captaincy of Europe’s latest victory at Gleneagles in 2014.
Paul Lawrie, Ian Poulter, Robert Karlsson and Miguel Angel Jiménez are among the other Ryder Cup stars to get their hands on the Wales Open trophy but the most dramatic tale belongs to Graeme McDowell. He secured his first tournament title for two years with weekend rounds of 64 and 63 at the Wales Open in 2010, won the US Open on his very next start and then returned to Celtic Manor to clinch the winning point in the Ryder Cup four months later.
Other players to have lifted the handsome silver dragon trophy include England’s Simon Khan, South African Richard Sterne, Frenchman Gregory Bourdy and current holder Dutchman Joost Luiten, who held his nerve to complete a dramatic one-shot victory over Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood in September.
As well as thrilling finishes, the event has also seen a close shave with the European Tour’s first ever round of 59 (Phillip Archer 2006), one player scoring two holes in one on the same hole (Elliot Saltman 2011) and the European Tour’s record long drive of 447 yards (Nicolas Colsaerts 2014).
Complementing the top golfing action over the years has been a fantastic hospitality pavilion for corporate entertainment and a tented village where crowds have been treated to interactive challenges, trick shot shows and Q&A interviews with the likes of Wales rugby captains Jonathan Davies, Martyn Williams and Sam Warburton.
The Wales Open didn’t take place in 2015 as Celtic Manor invested resources in other events and projects, like the ICC Wales. It’s a given that as well as the Cazoo Open, more top flight golf will continue to be part of the resort’s future.
The golf season was suspended back in March last year because of the pandemic, so the resumption of the European Tour action took a while to happen and a lot of careful planning. It was very different too. The games back then were played behind closed doors.
As you can imagine, all tournaments followed stringent safety and testing protocols set out in the Tour’s comprehensive Health Strategy, which indeed will continue this year in line with international Government guidance and health guidelines.
If you’d like to find out more, the Celtic Manor golf pages still have information about last year’s event to see HERE.
And if you want to find out all thing Golf at the Resort, just head HERE.