It is with sadness that we learn of the passing of Yvonne Larg, the Vice-President of the Samuel Ryder Foundation.

Yvonne became our Vice President shortly after the creation of the Foundation and from the start she was hugely supportive of our objectives, particularly our aim to erect a statue of Samuel Ryder in his hometown of St Albans. She will be sadly missed by us all.

Samuel was her great uncle; her father Tom Anderson Davies, a solicitor, drew up the deed of trust for The Ryder Cup. 

She leaves a son, daughter and grandchildren.  

The Samuel Ryder Foundation is thrilled to announce that the Professional Golf Association (PGA) of America has pledged £10,000 towards the erection of a statue of Samuel Ryder in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

The Samuel Ryder Foundation is delighted to share that the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews has agreed to pledge the generous amount of £25,000 towards the erection of a statue of Samuel Ryder in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

The The Samuel Ryder Foundation is delighted to announce that Paul McGinley, winning captain of the 2014 European Ryder Cup team, has become a patron. Paul said "it was an honour to be asked and he would help whenever possible to further the aims and objectives of The Foundation" President of The Foundation Mary Moore, Samuel Ryder's only surviving grandchild said that she was very pleased that Paul had become a patron.

On Monday 25th August, The Samuel Ryder Foundation held a fund raising event at the Old Town Hall in aid of their project for a statue of Samuel Ryder in the city centre of St Albans.

The highlight of the evening was a talk by Foundation patron Tony Jacklin CBE. Accompanied by his wife Astrid, Tony talked about his Ryder Cup experiences and the impact that it had on his life. He spoke about the changes to the Ryder Cup since it became a European team and how big the event had become.

Tony's talk was followed by a lively auction conducted by Barry Twyman of Amersham Auctions.

Patricia Fulton Co-chair for The Foundation said:

“We were very pleased with the turn out, despite the weather! The final amount that we have raised will not be known yet as there is interest in some of the auction items that were not sold.”

“We are grateful to all those who attended and took part. We would also like to thank all the companies and individuals who donated and the St Albans Council who provided the town hall for the event.”

“Invaluable helpers included Councillor Annie Brewster and Nadine Gibbon of Spinney Cottage Flowers who provided the beautiful floral decorations; Town hall manager Robert Orchard for his help throughout the entire day and Sam Reitemeier for the Power Point presentation of the auction items. The evening was conducted by Richard Marrett, manager of St Michaels Manor, acting for us as MC.

“The sponsor for the evening was The Clarion Hotel Holywell Hill, St Albans; our thanks go to the to the MD Kishor Majithia and his manager Charlene Scanlon. Their contribution ensured that the evening was a success and it would not have been possible without them”.

The Foundation has received its largest single donation to date - £25,000 from Ryder Cup Europe. This wonderfully generous donation goes a long way towards the objective of honouring Samuel Ryder with a statue in St Albans.

The photograph shows (from left) Sandy Jones, Chief Executive Officer of the PGA, Richard Hills, Ryder Cup Europe Director and Foundation trustees Patricia Fulton, Bob Reitemeier and David Holwell, being presented with the donation at PGA European Tour headquarters, Wentworth, on 21st May 2014.

Trustees Patricia Fulton, Bob Reitemeier and David Holwell were welcomed to
the re-branding launch of the former Comfort Hotel St Albans. The hotel is now
the Samuel Ryder Building and part of The Clarion Collection. In naming the
building Choice Hotels acknowledges the  building's  historic past - built in 1911 this was the headquarters of Ryder & Son. The  Ryder theme is evident with the bar being called The Samuel Ryder
 Bar. The principal function room which was Samuel's office, still has the original 
mahogany fireplace with SR carved in to the design. 

The picture shows Andrew Antoniades, manager of the Clarion Collection Hotel
St Albans, with Patricia Fulton and David Holwell.

Last week on October 10th our planning application for a statue of Samuel Ryder was heard by the St Albans District  Council. We are delighted to report that the application was  unanimously approved.

This is very exciting news for the Foundation and we hope to be able to
unveil the statue prior to the 2014 Ryder Cup match to be held at Gleneagles. 

We would like to express our thanks and gratitude to our architects Clarke and Whalen for drawing up the application
and  their help and guidance in getting it through the planning process; it  would not  have been possible without them. We would also like to thank former Mayor Maxine Crawley for her help and the time that she put into the project

The Foundation has been in touch with patron Bernard Gallacher. We are happy to say that Bernard is home and recovering from a recent heart attack. His activities are limited for the next few months as he recovers.

We are delighted to hear that patron Bernard Gallacher has left hospital and that he expects to make a full recovery from a heart attack. Our best wishes to him.