• European Tour

Wales Open future in doubt

ESPN staff
June 7, 2010
Celtic Manor is set to host the 2010 Ryder Cup in October © Getty Images
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The future of the Wales Open has been thrown into doubt after Sir Terry Matthews, the owner of Celtic Manor, refused to commit to the tournament on a long-term basis.

The 2010 Ryder Cup venue's contract with the European Tour to stage the event is due for renewal in 2014 but Matthews, who has spent approximately £100m on redeveloping the Newport hotel to host the biennial event between Europe and the United States, is unsure whether the course will continue to host Wales' only professional golf competition past the end of the current contract.

"I don't know if 2014 will be the last Wales Open, we'll have to look at it but our commitment is until 2014," Matthews told BBC Sport. "We've had 11 years of this so far and I think we have probably reached our peak with the Ryder Cup coming here. How do you go up from there?

"What more can you do with the site? What more can you do with the Wales Open and so on? We certainly have our plans but you can't always make the plans come to life.

"There is more than just the Celtic Manor in this, it is a function of ourselves and the European Tour and it is what we do in agreement with them."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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