GWENT electronics billionaire Terry Matthews says he will "spare nothing" to bring the Ryder Cup to Wales.

Mr Matthews, chairman of the £100m Celtic Manor Resort, has revealed a £12m revamp of the challenging Wentwood Hills golf course.

And included in the scheme, which involves seven new holes and two completely redesigned holes is a new club house alongside the River Usk. Mr Matthews says he is aiming to offer a layout which is "perfect" for the requirements of the Ryder Cup - a tournament between US and European professionals.

Mr Matthews, a native of New-bridge but resident in Canada, said: "Quite simply we will spare nothing to bring the Ryder Cup to Wales for the first time.

"We therefore need to offer a layout that is perfect for an event in which huge crowds follow a small number of matches and the players have to play two rounds in a day."

The course will start and finish at the new clubhouse centred on a refurbished Grade II listed farmhouse.

Mr Matthews praised the Welsh Ryder Cup bid committee led by the National Assembly for Wales for "putting forward a terrific case".

The electronics magnate said: "We are ahead of rival bids from Scotland and the north of England in almost every respect.

"The revamp of Wentwood Hills would make the Welsh cause irresistible." Recently Mr Matthews revealed that the plan to build a rugby centre of excellence at the Celtic Manor Resort has been abandoned in favour of the golf extension scheme.

A planning application for the work on Wentwood Hills course has been submitted to Newport county borough council planners and a decision is expected in July.

The venue for the 2009 Ryder Cup is due to be announced in September.