Lottery Process Begins For 2016 Ryder Cup At Hazeltine
CHASKA, Minn. (WCCO) -- When Danny Waggoner tees it up for a golf tournament, there's another one on his mind.
The one to be played in September 2016, when the top 12 golfers from both the United States and Europe play for national pride, not a paycheck.
"Just the pure mass of people who view this throughout the world. The Ryder Cup is the biggest golf event in the world," Waggoner said.
And the biennial tournament's next stop is Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska. The members of Hazeltine have hosted past U.S. Opens and the PGA Championship as recently as 2009. Step inside the sprawling new clubhouse and you clearly get a feel for the club's mission: Hosting major golf tournaments.
"About a year from today we begin building structures around the golf course," Ryder Cup Site Director Jeff Hintz said while riding in a golf cart out on the course Monday.
Hintz said getting the tournament selection meant tearing down the old clubhouse and building a new one. And there's been a major rework of the course itself to the total tune of around $15 million.
"They're re-grassing the fairways, the rough and greens and they just finished a bunker restoration project as well," Hintz said.
The Ryder Cup is still some 15 months away but already, interest is exploding. The host committee has already received 130,000 requests for ticketing information.
"I think it's going to be so cool because they're just expecting so many people," golfer Shannon Tracy said.
"For the week of the Ryder Cup we'll have over a quarter of a million people who will experience the Ryder Cup here at Hazeltine National," Hintz said.
Because of that demand, a lottery will be used to determine who gets the opportunity to purchase tickets. Beginning Monday, June 22, fans can sign up for a random chance to buy up to four tickets per person when they go on sale later this fall.
"I've got to pick three people because I'll be going for sure," Waggoner said with a laugh.
He and so many others cannot wait to see a competition that's never before graced these greens.
"Normally in golf they're competing as individuals. But in the Ryder Cup they're playing as teams, for their country - they're playing for a little Ryder Cup," Hintz said.
For more information on tickets go to the Ryder Cup website.
