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The Ryder
Cup
The Belfry, Wishaw Warwickshire
27-29
September, 2002
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About the Ryder
Cup
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| Europe took on the United States in the
34th Ryder Cup at The Belfry near
Birmingham. | In
1926, St Albans seed merchant Samuel Ryder visited
Wentworth for a pre-Open qualifying tournament and was
dismayed to see American and British golfers standing
apart from each other.
In an attempt to inject a
touch of friendly rivalry, he set up a competition
between the two factions. A prize fund of five pounds
for the winning team was put forward, along with a
champagne and chicken sandwich buffet for after the
match; the British won easily by 13½ - 1½.. Scotland's
George Duncan suggested he make it a regular event - and
the Ryder Cup was born.
Ryder - a keen golfer -
had hired his own golf professional to teach him and he
honoured his mentor Abe Mitchell by insisting that it be
his figure that adorned the top of the Ryder Cup.
However, the first tournament was not recognised as
official because the US team was not representative.
How things change; the Europe v USA tournament
is now one of the world’s biggest sporting
spectacles
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The Ryder Cup
2002
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| The Belfry Golf
Club and Hotel was the setting for the 34th Ryder
Cup. |
Five hundred staff from The NEC Group security,
visitor management and catering teams helped make the
34th Ryder Cup golf tournament, played at The Belfry
near Birmingham, one of the most memorable.
The NEC was one of two ‘park and ride’ centres,
involving the coordination of car and coach parking,
visitor management and ticket checking, with more than
60,000 people using the facility en-route to The Belfry
Paul McGinley sunk the winning put on the 18th green
to give the Europeans a 15½ to 12½ points win. A
jubilant European captain Sam Torrance described winning
the 2002 Ryder Cup as the finest moment in his career.
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Logistics
The
scale of the event, combined with the heightened state
of international security, created a series of unique
logistical challenges. With 180,000 spectators and a
global television audience of one billion, coupled with
the continued terrorist threat, the issues of safety and
security were paramount.
The NEC security team worked in partnership with
Warwickshire Police at The Belfry, taking responsibility
for site security during the build-up and breakdown as
well as during the tournament itself. This involved
perimeter security, mobile patrols, security of the
players’ accommodation and security of the
course.
Amadeus, the event catering arm of The
NEC Group, had a dual role, organising a gala dinner for
1,400 guests including the players and their wives at
The NEC, and providing corporate hospitality at The
Belfry. Twenty-five companies, including BP, Peugeot and
MasterCard, entertained guests in 25 different
‘pavilions’, with Amadeus providing breakfast, lunch and
afternoon tea – a total of 1,000 covers a day. Amadeus
is no stranger to golf tournaments, having provided
hospitality catering at major tournaments at Loch
Lomond, Wentworth and St Andrews.
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Ryder Cup
Links
The official Ryder Cup website
is http://www.rydercup.com/.
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18 May 2005
