 Ian Woosnam was European captain for the 2006 Ryder Cup victory |
Calls have been made to disclose how much public money is being paid to golfer Ian Woosnam to promote the Ryder Cup in Wales next year. Opposition parties have voiced concern that the deal has not been made public until now and say it should be known how the benefits are being evaluated. The Welsh Assembly Government said the success of the event needed "investment in professional skills". But it said details of pay were commercially confidential. Earlier this month, Economy Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones and Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones agreed to make a financial contribution from their budgets to "enhance" the current sponsorship agreement between Ryder Cup Wales and the Welsh player. The assembly government is spending more than £3m over two years to support the tournament, which pits the leading golfers from Europe and the US against each other. The payments to Woosnam include the rights to use his picture in promotional material, and appearances to promote Welsh business to potential investors. Woosnam, whose net worth has been estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List at £20m, is Wales' official ambassador for the Ryder Cup 2010, which will be at the Celtic Manor in Newport in October 2010. The tournament is viewed as a vital opportunity to promote Welsh tourism and business internationally. Senior tour Last year, Woosnam earned several hundreds of thousands of pounds on the senior tour for retired professionals. His main home is in Barbados, although he makes frequent trips back to the UK. In 1987 he became the first player to win £1m in a single season. Welsh Tory leader Nick Bourne said: "When the government says 'we can't tell you, it's commercial and it has to be confidential' what it actually means is 'it's embarrassing'. If this was a small sum of money, believe me they'd tell us exactly how much it is. "I'm second to no-one in my respect for Ian Woosnam, he's a great golfer, he's a great icon for Wales, but on the other hand I think we are entitled to know how much has been spent on this, not least because we need to know on value for money grounds." Liberal Democrat AM Mike German said: "While it's important to know Ian Woosnam's fee, it's too simplistic to just disclose how much is being paid for his services." Mr German said it was more important to know what value the golfer would provide. The Welsh Assembly Government said: "Hosting next year's Ryder Cup provides an enormous opportunity for Wales to show the world what it has to offer. It will promote Wales on an international scale, raising our country's profile as a destination for inward investment, business and tourism - a major asset at a time of recovery from recession. "Ensuring the success of this once in a lifetime opportunity requires investment in professional skills as well as infrastructure - and that is why Ian Woosnam is playing a leading role as our official ambassador for Team Wales in the run-up to the 2010 Ryder Cup. "Ian Woosnam has played in eight Ryder Cups and his international reputation is helping to maximise the profile of Wales on a global platform in the run up to next year's event. "In addition, as the official ambassador for Wales, Ian Woosnam has worked with young children across Wales through a range of school initiatives, and supported Wales in events arranged to attract inward investment opportunities. "Any remuneration for this activity is a matter of commercial confidence."
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I'm second to no-one in my respect for Ian Woosnam... but on the other hand I think we are entitled to know how much has been spent on this
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