Valhalla readies for Ryder Cup

When the PGA Championship was played at Valhalla in 1996 and 2000, sports fans were treated to terrific golf, highlighted by Tiger Woods' stirring playoff victory over Bob May seven years ago.

How could Valhalla ever top that?

By hosting the 37th Ryder Cup next September.

"The Ryder Cup is the pinnacle of golf. It's absolutely bigger than the four majors," tournament director Tara Guenthner said. "Golfers playing as a team, with pride for their countries, takes it to another level of importance.

"It creates the most dramatic, spirited event in golf."

Guenthner first came to Valhalla in November 1994, as tournament director for the '96 PGA Championship.

She faced a lot of questions then about how the Jack Nicklaus-designed course would hold up against the best golfers in the world, and how Louisville area businesses and fans would support the event.

She doesn't have to answer those questions now. Both PGAs at Valhalla, and the 2004 Senior PGA, were unqualified successes in terms of competitive golf, and corporate and fan support.

"Valhalla now has a great history," Guenthner said. "And the course is better, stronger and more beautiful.

"Kentucky has shown that it's a great host, too. We've always gotten great community support for all the events we've had here. There are fantastic golf nuts around here."

Valhalla has undergone quite a few changes over the last 10 years, with the PGA of America tweaking the course to make it tougher and fairer.

The most recent alterations include rebuilding four greens and moving the sixth green 60 yards farther back to make it a more difficult par 4. The par-5 seventh hole, which features a split fairway, now has a water hazard.

"We've spent the last 12 months making enhancements," Guenthner said. "At this point, all the seed is in the ground, so now we're fertilizing and watering, with a full year to grow."

Team USA and Team Europe will battle it out at Valhalla on Sept. 16-21, 2008. Paul Azinger will captain the Americans. Nick Faldo will captain the Europeans.

ESPN and NBC will televise the event.

Even though only 24 golfers are involved in the Ryder Cup, compared with 156 in a PGA Championship, Guenthner said that doesn't lessen the workload.

"We're 12 months away, but in our office it feels like it'll be here tomorrow," she said.

Because of the huge demand for tickets, the PGA of America will hold a random draw to determine who can buy them. The gallery will be limited to 40,000 fans per day.

Fans can register online for the random draw at www.rydercup.com. The deadline for registering is Sept. 30. The draw will be held in October.

Daily tickets will cost $40 for practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, $75 for Thursday's matches, $90 for Friday and Saturday, and $100 for Sunday.