EUROPEAN TOUR golfer Graeme Storm has predicted that the recently opened Rockliffe Hall complex will host the Ryder Cup in the not too distant future.

Storm, from Hartlepool, is now officially attached to the plush Hurworth course after ending his ties with the Wynyard Club, and feels that in the long term there is no more impressive and suitable facility in the country.

It is eight years this summer since the North- East hosted a European Tour event, while it is five since the Seve Trophy was played at Wynyard.

Such a gap had led to many fearing that top class golf will not return to the region, but Storm feels the re-development of the Rockliffe Hall site has laid such worries to rest.

The 32-year-old is in no doubt the brainchild of Steve Gibson, the chairman of Middlesbrough Football Club, is destined to become one of the most high-profile courses in Britain.

“The amount of finance that has gone in to this highlights what Rockliffe Hall is all about,” said Storm.

“They have done everything properly, with no expense spared at all.

“I think they have an absolute gem here. I reckon when it has matured a little, that within five years there’s no reason why they can’t hold a European Tour, or Challenge Tour event.

Beyond that there’s no reason why they can’t go for the big one.

“You look at the courses which have been financed for the Ryder Cup, like Celtic Manor and Gleneagles, which I have played and I like, but this course, this setup, is as good if not better than those and anything else around. I think it will host something like that, the Ryder Cup, when it has fully matured.”

As well as the luxurious five-star hotel, situated next to Boro’s Rockliffe Park training headquarters, Gibson has previously spoken about the prime location of the course as an ideal selling point.

As well as resting close to the A19, A66 and A1, Durham Tees Valley Airport and Darlington train station, it would be convenient for spectators to visit Rockliffe if an event took place there.

Storm is excited about what the future holds for Rockliffe Hall and feels the course, 7,879 yards from the back tees, deserves to be recognised for more than just being one of the longest in Europe.

“They will have to tinker with little things here and there over time to get where they want to go,” said Storm.

“You will have to put little bunkers in here and there, change things with time.

Little minor things, but look at golf courses over the world, they all do that, Augusta does that for the Masters every year. They make changes to make it tougher.

“Celtic Manor is a great facility and rightly holding the Ryder Cup this year, but I don’t care what anyone says, that is not as good as this facility here.

“I have been to Celtic Manor and I know they are building new things, but this is fantastic and almost unique.”

After spending more than a decade playing out of Wynyard, this is a new era for Storm. After spending the last five weeks recovering from a shoulder problem, he is now keen to kick-start his season next Thursday in Morocco at the Trophee Hassan II.

“I have attached myself to Rockliffe now, and I agree with their belief that this is the best complex, best golfing facility in the north,”

he said.

“There is a chipping green with bunkers, chipping green with undulations on the green. There’s high quality greens, putting greens, it’s exceptional.

“They have survived a huge heavy winter and the greens are as good if not better than anywhere in the UK. It’s not just about hitting balls, it’s about the short game and everything else when you have to come to a club to work on your game.

“I can come here now, like I have been doing for the last few weeks because of my injury, and I know I have got all of those things, this is a terrific move for me and it has already helped me.”