Golfers around the world will be glued to their television sets this weekend watching the action unfold from the Oakland Hills Country Club in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, where teams from Europe and the US will be battling it out for the biennial Ryder Cup.

Across the Atlantic at a famous golf venue that last hosted the Ryder Cup in 1953, another battle is about to take place.

But rather than a trophy, the victor in this contest will win Wentworth, one of the world's most revered courses.

Mr Richard Caring, the retail entrepreneur and friend of Mr Philip Green, took an early lead in the bid battle. His initial bid of £100 million (€147 million) for the course was accepted by Chelsfield, the property group that owns 60 of Wentworth's 100 shares.

However, minority shareholders in Wentworth were not impressed by the offer from Mr Caring or Chelsfield's acceptance of it.

They insisted that the bid undervalued Wentworth, which has three 18-hole courses, and set about plotting their own offers for the venue.

Chelsfield owns 60 "B" shares in Wentworth with the remaining 40 "B" shares owned by 26 individuals, including Mr Eddie Shah, the former newspaper proprietor; Mr Surinder Arora, the hotelier; and Quinlan Private, the group run by Mr Derek Quinlan which recently bought the Savoy Group.

Some of the minority shareholders - namely Mr Quinlan, Mr Arora and Mr Shah - have expressed an interest in the course by exercising pre-exemption rights attached to their holdings.

These rights effectively allow them to match any bid made for the company.

The pressure from the minority shareholders prompted Mr Caring to raise his offer by 10 per cent to £110 million this week. The minority shareholders are meeting on Monday to consider their next move. Quinlan Private is expected to decide next week whether to make a bid.

Mr Sean Quinn, the Fermanagh businessman, had initially bid £85 million and subsequently raised this to £102 million. He is currently reviewing the situation but is thought unlikely to be interested if the price head towards £120 million.

Minority shareholders contacted yesterday declined to comment on whether they would mount new bids although there is a feeling among some that the race is not over yet, in spite of Chelsfield's acceptance of Mr Caring's latest offer.

At stake, they say, is one of the world's top courses. Wentworth, which is a short drive from London, is well located and has development potential.

Although it has extensive leisure facilities, unlike other international courses, such as the Belfry which hosted the last Ryder Cup in 2002, it does not have a hotel on its grounds.

Mr Arora would be a leading candidate to develop a hotel at Wentworth should the minority shareholders launch a rival bid to Mr Caring.

He is chairman and founder of Arora International which has four hotels in the UK and a fifth, at Heathrow's new Terminal Five, under development.

Sir Cliff Richard, the ageing pop singer, is an equity partner in the group's Manchester property. He declined to comment on whether he aimed to build a hotel at Wentworth or whether a rival bid would be launched following Monday's meeting.

"Everyone will have their own views," said Mr Arora. "We have to make sure the figures work. We won't just buy it for the sake of buying it."

Mr Arora has a house overlooking the famous 18th hole on the course. " is a great place and I love it but it has to make commercial sense," he said.

Mr Caring could not be reached yesterday.

However, his latest bid has been given an irrevocable acceptance from Chelsfield, which has said it will only entertain other offers of £120 million.

But with minority shareholders plotting their next move, a bid of £120 million has not been ruled out.

Like the Ryder Cup, which today enters a critical stage, the Wentworth bidding race has some way to go yet.