France will stage 2018 Ryder Cup
France has been selected as the host for the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Le Golf National, on the outskirts of Versailles near Paris, will be the site for the 42nd edition of the matches between the United States and Europe.
It will be just the second time that mainland Europe will stage the biennial event. Valderrama (in Spain) was the first in 1997.
Spain was again considered, while other bids came from Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands. In the wake of Seve Ballesteros’ recent death, the sentimental choice would have been a return to Spain.
Ballesteros (the charismatic Spaniard who helped fuel the European resurgence in Ryder Cup play during the 1980s) was the captain of the Europe squad that won the Ryder Cup in his native country in 1997. He died on May 7 following a lengthy battle with brain cancer.
However, it was France that won the bidding process.
“We have one worthy gold medallist in France, who gave us the confidence to believe that they will stage a truly memorable Ryder Cup in seven years’ time” – said Richard Hills, Europe’s Ryder Cup director. “However, there are four impressive silver medallists involved in this extremely detailed process in Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain, any of whom were also well positioned to host the 2018 event.”
- Ryder Cup's logo.
Surrey, England, May 17 (UPI) – The 2018 Ryder Cup will be contested at Le Golf National on the outskirts of Versailles near Paris, officials announced Tuesday.
Ryder Cup Europe officials conducted a competition in which France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain sought to be the host country for the 42nd Ryder Cup.
France won with Le Golf National, “an impressive ‘stadium’ course, which has received high praise over the past 20 years” – a Ryder Cup Europe release said. The course will be the site of golf’s French Open next month for the 10th consecutive year.
The choice of France for the international completion will mark the first time since 1997 that the Ryder Cup, a competition between teams from the United States and Europe, will be decided on the European Continent.
Ryder Cup Europe said the bidding sites were judged on criteria including facilities, infrastructure to conduct a world-class sporting event and ‘commercial opportunities available to the Ryder Cup.’
The biennial competition began in 1927 as a tournament between the United States and Great Britain. Ireland was added to the Great Britain team for 1973, ’75 and ’77 and the team was expanded to include all of Europe in 1979. It switched to even-numbered years in 2002.
Darren Clarke believes he can make a return to Europe’s Ryder Cup team after ending a three-year winless run at the weekend.
Clarke trailed England’s Chris Wood by four strokes going into the final round of the Iberdrola Open but a 69 helped him to record a three-shot victory as the third-round leader fell away.
The 42-year-old had not tasted victory since winning the 2008 KLM Open, while he had also slumped outside the top 100 ranked players.
But Clarke’s victory has convinced him that he can still compete at the highest level and he is targeting further success this season.
He said – “I feel there is a lot of golf left in me. I need to get the consistency back again.
“I would like to qualify for another Ryder Cup team and another win would take me back into the top 50. It was nice to win again but I want to be doing it more frequently.”
Clarke’s victory previous best finish this season was coming joint-eighth at the Volvo Golf Champions event and moved him up 36 places to 88th in the latest rankings.
The Northern Irishman has not played in the Ryder Cup since helping Europe to victory at The K Club in 2006 and has been touted as a future captain.
But Clarke is adamant that he still has plenty to offer as a player first after his belief in his game was reaffirmed in Mallorca.
He added – “My swing is getting better and better. If I can get myself into contention to win, then great, and I can get up the world rankings again.”