(image: getty images/rydercup.com)
Jim McKenzie, the beleaguered course superintendent at Celtic Manor, received a text message yesterday wishing him better fortune over the remainder of the weekend. It came from Gerry Byrne, his counterpart at The K Club, where interrupted play was successfully averted, despite similar weather problems during the Ryder Cup in 2006.
"Having had an inch and a half of torrential rain from 7.0am until midday, we were within little more than 15 minutes of closing the course on the Sunday," Byrne admitted. "Though our greens never flooded, the overall condition of the course wasn't far from the way Celtic Manor was on Friday morning. In our case, we were fortunate that the rain stopped."
Memories remain vivid of Byrne and 40 greenkeeping colleagues using towels to matt saturated tees, ahead of Colin Montgomerie in the top singles match. Byrne had 80 staff at his disposal, compared with 110 at the Welsh venue, including Richard Stillwell, consultant agronomist to the European Tour.
"I was at Celtic Manor last week as a guest of the European Tour and I could see that Jim and his staff had done a tremendous job in preparing the course," said Byrne. "I must say my heart goes out to him. He was at The K Club in 2006 and we have remained in touch since then. He's an outstanding superintendent who dedicated 10 years of his life building towards this weekend only to suffer the heartbreak of Friday morning. I know how he feels and I've told him so."