Ryder Cup organisers release 3,000 extra tickets

ORGANISERS of this year’s Ryder Cup event at Gleneagles have released 3,000 match-day tickets to ensure as many golf fans as possible can see Europe play the United States.

Ryder Cup captains Paul McGinley and Tom Watson. Picture: Jane Barlow

Initially earmarked for the 2014 Ryder Cup commercial programme, the sought-after tickets go on sale today via the official tournament website on a first-come, first-served basis.

The event takes place in Perthshire over six days next month, including three practice days on the 23, 24 and 25 September and three match days on the 26, 27 and 28 September.

The public ticket sales process for the 2014 Ryder Cup began in May, with the launch of Ryder Cup Europe’s registration website. Golf fans eager to be there had to complete a two-stage process, firstly submitting a photograph in order to secure a registration ID ahead of the official launch of the ticket application process on 10 June.

Those interested in securing tickets for the practice days were able to buy these directly from 10 June, whilst fans interested in match-day tickets were then able to apply using their registration ID. All applications for match-day tickets then went forward into a ballot, with successful fans notified last week.

Today’s release of the 3,000 additional match-day tickets presents an opportunity for disappointed fans who missed out on the original ballot to secure their place at Gleneagles.

Richard Hills, Europe’s Ryder Cup Director, said: “It’s common for a small number of general admission tickets to return once the final round of commercial allocations are complete. We are delighted to be able to release these tickets to the general public – it is great news for the event and will add to the very special atmosphere only the Ryder Cup can produce.

“Tens of thousands of people made the effort to register for Ryder Cup tickets last year, and while many were successful, many others were not. Therefore, we wanted to make these tickets available to them as well to people who perhaps hadn’t registered before.”

The extra match-day tickets are available at www.rydercup.com, the official Ryder Cup website, with a maximum of four tickets being available to purchase at one time.

Crucially, those hoping for a ticket in the one-off sale will still need to register their photograph online first, a process which can take up to 24 hours.