A BUDDING artist has had her first-ever watercolour chosen as the official poster of the 2014 Ryder Cup.

Youth worker Katie Carmichael, 31, created the painting in her kitchen and it will now feature as memorabilia of the golf tournament which starts this week at Gleneagles.

She said: "Art has always been a passion of mine and I do a bit of design work for friends every now and then. However, I never thought I'd end up designing the Ryder Cup poster, particularly when the design was my first-ever watercolour.

"The competition was a great opportunity and to win provides a great platform to maybe try and take my art a bit more seriously."

Proceeds from the sale of the poster will go towards the four official charities of the 2014 Ryder Cup - Quarriers, Friends of St Margaret's Hospital, Perth and Kinross Disability Sport and The McGinley Foundation.

Meanwhile a no-fly zone has been ordered over the Ryder Cup, as hundreds of VIPs attend. Unauthorised aircraft will not be allowed below 3,000ft during the competition.

The Civil Aviation Authority imposed the restriction after a request from police.

Gleneagles will be Britain's busiest heliport in the next week with up to 200 movements a day. Stars and millionaires are spending up to £8,000 daily on helicopters to fly to the event.

Over 250,000 spectators - including First Minister Alex Salmond - are expected to see the clash between America and Europe. Practice sessions start tomorrow with the contest proper from Friday to Sunday.