Medinah Ryder Cup is one tough ticket

Michael Belot knows how it goes.

It's getting toward the holiday season and all of a sudden you're thinking of gifts for the golfer in your life and suddenly you remember that the Ryder Cup is coming to Medinah in 2012.

Perfect!

Um, not so much. Because unless you had registered for the random draw for tickets at rydercup.com, which opened last week and runs through September 30, chances of getting tickets are pretty much nil.

And the Ryder Cup Director for the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah doesn't want to see that happen.

“You may think in November, ‘I'd like to buy a Ryder Cup ticket for my dad for Christmas,'” Belot said. “Well, you're not going to get that opportunity unless you register.”

Belot talked to the Daily Herald about the draw, the event, and everything Ryder Cup.

Q. How is that random draw going?

A. We've had a fantastic response so far, just multiple tens of thousands of people have registered. I think that shows the excitement and the prestige of the Ryder Cup and that it's going to be one of the toughest tickets to get in Chicago and all the sports world.

Q. Is this the only way for the individual fan to get a ticket?

A. If you want tickets, the random draw is the only way to get them. But there's just so much demand for them that the majority of people that enter will not get tickets.

Q. I guess that's good ... and bad, right?

A. It is a good and a bad thing. You want to take care of everyone who wants to go to the event, but I think it just shows that it's a wonderful event, a once-in-a-lifetime event. But you need to enter, cross your fingers, get your relatives, your friends and everyone else entered as well ... and hopefully some people will strike it rich.

Q. Does it bum you out that there's no way everyone who wants to go can go?

A. There's a fine line between accommodating people to make sure that they have a good spectator and viewing experience. Could this golf course possibly fit 75,000 people on it? Probably, but would anyone see anything and would they leave with a good memory of their experience of the Ryder Cup? Probably not.

Certainly you'd like to accommodate everyone. But everyone would like to go to the Super Bowl, everyone would like to go to the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics ... therefore that person who does get a ticket to the Ryder Cup is going to be all the more excited and have a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Q. What is the capacity going to be per day?

A. Somewhere around 40,000, and that's everybody. That's media, that's corporate, that's ticket holders, volunteers — that's everyone.

Q. You have to be excited about the emergence of Rory McIlroy.

A. The way Rory's played in the last couple of majors, it would be hard to argue that he isn't the best player in the world right now and we're excited about the possibility of having him come here.

Q. I know there's been some renovation to the course. How's it looking and is there anything left to do on that front?

A. The course is in great shape — the greens are fantastic. Anyone who was here in 2006 (for the PGA Championship) will notice differences in the greens' undulation. They're just more challenging, to put it quite simply. The players will surely notice it.

The other big thing is they built a brand new hole, No. 15. It's now going to be a drivable par 4, which will certainly set the scene for some exciting moments. I think that was a smart move by Medinah to add even more drama to the Ryder Cup.

Q. In a sentence or two, sell the Ryder Cup to those who might be on the fence.

A. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's like no other golf event in the world.

It's an experience you'll never forget and that's why the demand continues to be there because we have so may people that want to attend for the first time or want to come back.