UK government “exploring potential” of bringing 2031 Ryder Cup to England

The UK Sports Minister has publicly admitted that the government is looking into the prospect of bringing the Ryder Cup to England in 2031.

Responding to a question from Craig Tracey, the MP for North Warwickshire & Bedworth and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf, Nigel Huddlestone acknowledged that plans to bid for the match are currently firmly on the table.

“There is ongoing work to explore the potential on a possible English bid to host the 2031 Ryder Cup for the first time in England since 2002,” said Huddlestone.

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“DCMS [the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport] and UK Sport are in close contact with the key partners and venues and our collective teams continue to work together to conclude this feasibility work and decide on next steps.

“It’s about the work as well as the finances here and we’ll continue to work in every way we can.”

Plans to bring the Ryder Cup to a proposed new course near Bolton have been rumoured for some time. As recently as last week, Hulton Park developers Peel L&P submitted a new planning application following a period of public and community consultation.

Huddleston stopped short of naming any prospective host courses by name but did add that he would be open to accepting an invitation from Tracey to travel to his constituency to visit The Belfry.

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The iconic Midlands venue, which was sold last month to US investment firm Goldman Sachs in a deal reported to be worth £140million, has staged the Ryder Cup on four occasions and, most recently, in 2002.

The Ryder Cup has been played in England on 15 occasions and at nine different venues.

As things stand, 2031 is the next unaccounted-for date on the calendar in Europe. The Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome will stage the 2023 match, followed by Adare Manor in the Republic of Ireland in 2027.