France to host 2018 Ryder Cup
Five nations - France, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain - participated in an exhaustive and comprehensive bid process, the first of its kind, to host the 2018 Ryder Cup. France came out on top and the 42nd edition of the matches will take place at Le Golf National on the outskirts of Versailles near Paris.
France will host The Ryder Cup for the first time in 2018. The historic announcement, which will see golf's greatest team event return to the Continent of Europe for the first time in 21 years, was made by Ryder Cup Europe at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.
Le Golf National on the outskirts of Versailles near Paris, the well-established home of the Alstom Open de France, will become only the second Continental venue - following Club de Golf, Valderrama, in Spain in 1997 - when the 42nd edition of The Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States is contested in the autumn of 2018.
George O'Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour - the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe - made the official announcement at the iconic Wentworth Club, a venue which in 1926 had staged an international match recognised as the forerunner to The Ryder Cup itself one year later.
Richard Hills, Europe's Ryder Cup Director, had led a four-strong Bid Committee, comprising 2018 Bid Director David MacLaren, Ryder Cup Match Director Edward Kitson and Financial Director Jonathan Orr, to examine and evaluate each Bid, including a series of thorough site inspections to the five countries who had confirmed their desire to stage The Ryder Cup in seven years' time. A sixth, Sweden, had dropped out of the race in the spring of 2010.
The Bid Committee was assisted significantly in their evaluation procedure by three prominent external advisers in Michael Payne, Jaime Byrom and Nick Bitel, who brought considerable experience from their specialist sporting backgrounds, namely the Olympic Movement, FIFA and the London Marathon respectively.
Hills commented: "We would like to congratulate France on becoming the host for The 2018 Ryder Cup, but more importantly, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the representatives of France, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain, who responded so diligently to Ryder Cup Europe's bidding criteria and conducted themselves in a thoroughly professional manner throughout the most detailed evaluation process as we have ever embarked upon.
"At the outset, we gave the process the codename 'Operational Level Playing Field' and identified three key individuals in Michael Payne, Jaime Byrom and Nick Bitel, each of whom is highly respected in the business and sporting worlds. They brought their own unique brand of expertise to the table and we thank them for helping the Bid Committee identify the correct nation to host this prestigious match."
"France, as the successful nation, will now be entering into a multi-faceted relationship with Ryder Cup Europe, lasting a minimum of 12 years and benefiting many aspects of golf at all levels. All of us at Ryder Cup Europe look forward to working closely with the French Ryder Cup 2018 team in the coming years. France has hosted 118 European Tour, 60 European Challenge Tour and 12 European Senior Tour events. Ten French golfers have won 24 tournaments on The European Tour and 36 players have gained 51 wins on the European Challenge Tour while Thomas Levet and Jean Van de Velde have represented Europe in The Ryder Cup in 2004 and 1999 respectively.
(source: rydercup.com)
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