Arnold Palmer has confirmed he will attend next month's Ryder Cup at the K Club course which he designed. The American great turns 77 on September 10th but will travel to Co Kildare for the Europe versus United States clash a fortnight later.

"I am very much looking forward to watching the matches and seeing how the players respond to competing on what I consider one of my best golf courses," said Palmer. "With some of the changes we made for the Ryder Cup, the K Club has so many strong holes and I think it's going to produce an exciting competition. I think the players will enjoy the challenge there."

Palmer's record in the Ryder Cup is one of the most distinguished in the history of the event. In six appearances starting in 1961 and ending in 1973 Palmer was on the winning team each time, playing in 32 matches and winning 22, the most by an American player.

"I'm extremely proud of my Ryder Cup record. It meant a lot to me and it still means a lot to me," he added. "From the day I first started playing I thought that representing your country in a major golf tournament was one of the most important things I could do in the game.

"I still get all choked up now thinking about how much I enjoyed it, how much fun I had playing and how I enjoyed winning for my country."

The United States team will be captained by Tom Lehman and Palmer explained: "All I can say to Tom is that once the matches begin there isn't much he can do, which can be frustrating. All he can do is help the guys prepare as best they can and try to put together some teams that click.

"The rest is up to the guys on the course. I expect a close contest and as the guy who designed the golf course I suppose I'll have a little extra curiosity about what goes on."