The goal for Barcelona and the Costa Brava is the 2022 Ryder Cup so it's hardly surprising that in a football daft region, those behind the Spanish Ryder Cup bid are using a few well-kent faces from a different ball game to lend their support to the golfing cause
Pep Guardiola, the former manager of the Catalan giants and a native of this part of Spain, and Xavi, the inventive, industrious midfielder with the team from the Camp Nou, are the big hitters that are giving the Spanish effort a right good kick as it tries to lure the biennial battle to the PGA Catalunya resort. This correspondent can't recall if the successful Gleneagles bid a few years ago was heavily influenced by St Johnstone greats Tommy Turner and John Connolly, mind you.
"Come and play the Ryder Cup at my home," urged Guardiola, who is now the manager at Bayern Munich in Germany, a nation that is one of Spain's key rivals for the Ryder Cup in seven years' time.
"Spain is a footballing country so it would be silly not to use it," said Matt Wilson, the bid manager, who also reported that Andres Iniesta, another big name of Barca, has bought a plot of land on the resort to build a tidy bolt hole.
"We had the visiting delegation at the Camp Nou the other day and the video of them hitting chip shots on the pitch was re-tweeted by Barcelona to the club's 14 and a half million followers. That shows the reach they have."
Off the course, the Spanish push has some established stars. On the course, they have an established venue. Unlike the PGA Centenary course at Gleneagles for instance, which underwent a sizeable facelift in the build up to the 2014 Ryder Cup particularly with its 18th hole, the Stadium course at PGA Catalunya is ready and waiting. "There's no re-building needed; it's all there," added Wilson.
The most significant work taking place involves clearing swathes of shrubs and non-indigenous trees to create improved spectator viewing areas in its many natural 'grandstands'.
The big impact that the hugely successful Scottish staging of the event had last year continues to make an impression on future venues, especially when it comes to matters relating to the general infrastructure of this vast sporting exhibition.
"We are trying to re-create the Scottish model," added Wilson. "European Golf Design took the site from Gleneagles, plonked it down on a map of the Stadium course and it fitted."
The decision as to whether Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria or Portugal gets the 2022 Ryder Cup is expected in October. "If we are successful, the icing on the cake would be for Sergio (Garcia) to be the European captain and Tiger (Woods) the American captain," said head greenkeeper, David Bataller. "How good would that be?"
El Clasico, perhaps?
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