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2018 RYDER CUP TO BE HELD IN FRANCE
Posted by: user16163 | Tue 17th May 2011 13:14 | Last Reply
Taken from BBC Sport website
France has been named as the host country for the Ryder Cup in 2018, beating off favourites Spain.
Le Golf National course, near Paris, was chosen ahead of other bids from Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands.
It will be the first time France has hosted the biennial Europe versus United States match and only the second time to be played on mainland Europe.
The first was in 1997, when the late Seve Ballesteros captained Europe to a narrow victory at Valderrama in Spain.
There had been calls to award the event to Spain in honour of the five-time major winner, who was patron of the Madrid bid and died earlier this month after a long battle with cancer.
But the European Tour resisted the emotional pull to select a venue which has hosted 18 of the last 20 French Open tournaments for the 42nd edition of the Ryder Cup, which continues to grow in popularity.
It is also increasingly a big business opportunity.To fund the French bid, every registered golfer in the country has donated one euro to the cause, while organisers hope that landing the tournament will boost the development of golf in France, who has promised to build more than 100 urban golf courses.
The French bid say they want the number of registered players to increase from 400,000 to 700,000 by 2022, and they are also aiming to have three native players in Europe's Ryder Cup team by 2022.
European Ryder Cup director Richard Hills was full of praise for the French bid.
"The winning bid from France stands out for a number of reasons," he said.
"The venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup, Le Golf National, is a truly outstanding golf course, providing excellent spectator viewing and the promise of spectacular climaxes to the matches. Transportation, logistical and infrastructure plans are also of the highest quality.
"There's no doubt that the 2018 Ryder Cup will be memorable and dramatic, and which thousands of golf fans will be able to enjoy."
French Ryder Cup committee president Pascal Grizot was thrilled that his country's bid had been successful.
"It is a real honour for our country, for the French gold federation and for all private and public partners who have supported our bid," he said.
"Above all, it is a huge accolade for all the French golfers who have as one contributed to this project. We are particularly proud of this collective support we have had on this journey."
On Ballesteros, he added: "We all remember Severiano Ballesteros as an icon in our sport and someone who epitomised the spirit of the Ryder Cup. He is in our thoughts today."
