France edged out rival bids from Spain, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands to land the tournament, which sees a European team take on the United States. Pascal Grizot, head of the Ryder Cup commission at the French Golf Federation, described the confirmation of Le Golf National as the host venue as a “huge accolade” and “an honour” for France.
“The decision...is a real honour for our country, the French Golf Federation and all the public and private partners who have supported the bid,” said Grizot, according to Sky Sports News. “Above all it is a huge accolade for all French golfers who have contributed to this project.”
The 2018 edition will be only the second time in the history of the Ryder Cup that the biennial event has been staged on mainland Europe after the 1997 match, which saw Seve Ballesteros captain Europe to a single-point victory at Valderrama in Spain.
Following the death of Ballesteros earlier this month there had been a groundswell of support to hand the 2018 Ryder Cup to his homeland, Spain, in honour of the legendary golfer. However, George O’Grady, the CEO of the European Tour, insisted it was right to award the event to the strongest bid.
“I don't think it's a missed opportunity at all in the sense that we've been well aware of the legacy of Severiano Ballesteros right from the beginning of this bidding process,” said O’Grady, who added that France had won by a “clear but narrow margin” in the tender. “Everything we do as a European Tour is to honour him. I don't think this is going to be the last Ryder Cup that will be played in most of our lifetimes, it's just that at the moment the French bid was outstanding.”
