Deadline to register for 2010 Ryder Cup ticket ballot nearing rapidly

The Ryder Cup ticket is now recognized as one of the hottest in sports -- on a par with the Olympics, the World Cup and Wimbledon -- and golf fans have only two weeks remaining (until July 31) to register for the initial ballot for 2010.

Full details on how to apply are available on rydercup.com/tickets for the computerized random lottery drawing that will take place in August.

Thirty years ago Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido made golfing history by becoming the first players from Continental Europe to play in the Ryder Cup.

Since then, the popularity of the biennial match between Europe and the United States has boomed and history will be made again next year when the Ryder Cup unfolds for the first time in Wales at The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, from October 1-3.

The Ryder Cup's famous golden chalice, first played for in 1927, will arrive in Wales in American hands when Captain Corey Pavin steps off the Team's private jet at Cardiff Airport, 14 months from now.

Colin Montgomerie, Europe's Captain, can, however, take great heart from recent history with Europe seeking an 11th win overall and a sixth win in eight contests.

The timetable of change from West Virginia in 1979 to Wales in 2010 vividly portrays the unique flavor and high drama of the match which will be watched on the Twenty Ten Course by 45,000 spectators each day, not to mention almost a billion TV viewers around the world.