No plans to bring Open to Wales

THE organisers of one of golf’s most iconic events say they have no plans to add any courses to the Open Championship rota, despite interest from the Welsh Government.

As reported in yesterday’s Echo, after Cardiff staged the 2017 Champions League final on Saturday, Economy Minister Ken Skates said the Open and cycling’s Tour de France were the next major sporting events Wales wanted to attract.

Mr Skates said: “I think there is great potential to host new major events that have not yet been to Wales. We have had productive conversations with the organisations behind these events.”

Royal Porthcawl would be the most likely venue for the Open as it prepares to host the Senior Open for the second time in the last four years.

The Open is one of the four major annual tournaments in the world golfing calendar.

Organised by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A), since 1894 it has been played in Scotland 62 times, in England 49 times and in Northern Ireland once – but it has never been played in Wales.

However, the R&A said in July 2015 that it did not have “any intention” to take the Open to Porthcawl.

And in wake of this week’s reports of Welsh Government talks, a spokesman told Press Association Sport: “We are happy with the 10 courses on the rota and have no plans to make any changes.”

The move by the Welsh Government comes in the wake of a string of sporting successes for the nation.

As well as Saturday’s widely-praised match between Real Madrid and Juventus, Wales has hosted the Ryder Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the Ashes and Olympic events, as well as FA Cup finals.

On Tuesday, the England-New Zealand ICC Champions Trophy took place in Cardiff, and in 2019 the Cricket World Cup will take place in the city.

As for cycling events, Cardiff will host the final stage of the 2017 Tour of Britain on September 11.

And there are precedents for hosting stages of the world’s most prestigious bike races – the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia – in the UK and Ireland.

The Tour de France started in Yorkshire in 2014, and has also held stages in Plymouth, Kent and London, while the Giro d’Italia had two stages around Belfast and a stage finish in Dublin in the same year.

“Cycling events such as the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France are hugely popular and we have proved we can host major cycling events in Wales, I would like to attract more,” Mr Skates added.

“We have been speaking to the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France and that would be really exciting.”