Irish Golf Desk

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Waterproofgate a boost for Europe and ProQuip

A PGA of America offical slapped down his corporate credit card and bought waterproofs worth around €5,500 from the tented village at Celtic Manor following a PR disaster on day one of the Ryder Cup.

Players complained that their official issue Sun Mountain suits leaked badly during torrential rain that led to a seven hour suspension in play.

US skipper Corey Pavin said: “We were disappointed with the performance of them, and you know, we just fixed it.  They were not doing what we wanted them to do so we went out and bought some more waterproofs.”

Play was set to resume at 5pm with the American players and their caddies decked out in ProQuip rainwear - the same brand used by the European team.

ProQuip has been put on standby to help the USA Ryder Cup Team with new weatherwear amid appalling weather conditions at The Celtic Manor Resort.

Needless to say, the Scottish manufacturers were quick to spread the news:

ProQuip, the specialist Scottish weatherwear brand that is the Preferred Supplier to the European Ryder Cup Team, was approached by USA team officials during the suspension of play on the first morning.
 
A list of sizes of USA team members was supplied to ProQuip at approximately 10.30am on Friday following heavy rain in the morning session, leading to a suspension of play.
 
ProQuip’s Managing Director, Richard Head, who personally fitted all the European Team players for their rain suits, sourced a number of ProQuip suits from the merchandise store and supplied these to USA Team officials.
 
“We were surprised to be put on standby to help the USA Ryder Cup Team with their rain suits within a few hours of the Ryder Cup starting,” said Richard Head. “However, for the sake of the match, we were happy to help and supply back-up weatherwear.
 
“Whether the USA Team will require these reserve suits remains to be seen.
 
“From the European Team’s perspective, we had anticipated rain and the team was well equipped for the conditions,” continued Richard Head. “Our exclusive fabric technology has resulted in the lightest and quietest Ryder Cup rain suit ever – and one that is effective in all conditions, keeping players dry and comfortable.”
 
During the suspension of play, Ian Poulter told Sky Sports: “All I can say is that our waterproofs are keeping us nice and dry.”