A RYDER Cup flag signed by the victorious 2012 European Team is being auctioned for charity in Swindon.

Caddy Jason Hempleman, 39, from Old Town, assisted Italian Francesco Molinari at last year’s competition in the USA.

He witnessed first hand the so-called Miracle of Medinah, when the European team stormed to victory after trailing the Americans.

Jason, himself an accomplished golfer who has represented both Wiltshire and the South West, personally gathered the signatures of Jose Maria Olazabal, Nicolas Colsaerts, Peter Hanson, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Paul Lawrie, Martin Kaymer and, of course, Francesco Molinari.

He has decided to auction the flag in aid of Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group.

Jason said: “I wanted to auction the flag to raise money for charity, and Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group is a very worthy cause.

“To get these signatures on an official flag like this is quite a rare thing, and it’s surely a collectors’ item.”

Jason believes the flag would be the showpiece of any fan’s memorabilia collection or an ideal disaplay item for a company or sports club.

He has opted for a closed bid auction using a specially-created email address.

Anybody who wants the chance to to own this piece of history and raise money for Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group at the same time should send their bid to flagauction@gmail.com