• Ryder Cup 2018

France win the right to host 2018 Ryder Cup

Le Golf National will play host to the 2018 Ryder Cup © Getty Images

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France have been awarded the right to host the 2018 Ryder Cup, at Le Golf National outside Paris.

The French bid beat off stiff competition from the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal and Spain - who had the sentimental vote after the recent passing of Seve Ballesteros - to win the right to stage the 42nd iteration of the biennial event, after an announcement by the Ryder Cup bid committee during a press conference at Wentworth on Tuesday.

"We can only award the honour, and responsibility, of staging the match to one country. But our decision has been made, by a clear but narrow margin. It goes to France," said European Tour chief executive George O'Grady.

With France home to the oldest Open championship in continental Europe - the French Open was first played in 1906 - Le Golf National has hosted 18 of the last 20 such events and has gained a reputation as one of the most enjoyable, testing and attractive courses on the European circuit.

A so-called 'stadium course', it will again host the French Open next month, and should prove a fitting venue with water - particularly over the closing stretch - very much in play on many holes.

"The decision from the Ryder Cup is a real honour for our country," French bid chief Pascal Grizot said. "It is a huge accolade for all the French golfers and we are particularly proud of all the support we have had."

It will be only the second time the tournament has been staged outside either the United States or British Isles since its inception in 1927. In 1997 Spain hosted the event at Valderrama, with Ballesteros the victorious European captain on that occasion.

The bid committee made their decision based on a number of factors - including the potential legacy for the country from hosting the event, the support from golfers within the country for the bid and the commercial and financial opportunities that hosting the Ryder Cup would create.

"The winning bid stands out for a number of reasons," Ryder Cup director Richard Hills said. "The venue is a truly outstanding golf course, with excellent spectator viewing and the promise of outstanding finishes.

"Transport, logistical and infrastructure plans are also of the highest quality."

French president Nicolas Sarkozy had made bidding for the event a priority, while every registered golfer in the country donated a euro to support the bid. Plans were also put in place to build 100 golf courses in urban areas in the coming years, and such actions were evidently persuasive when the committee came to make their decision.

It is another sporting success for France, who will host football's European Championships in 2016 and are also bidding for the Winter Olympics in 2018.

However, the country has only had a limited number of representatives in the Ryder Cup - with Jean Van de Velde (1999) and Thomas Levet (2004) the only two to have played in the event.

"We are looking forward to 2018 because it is going to be incredible," Levet said. "It's going to help bring golf to the people, to the kids and to the people who have never touched a golf club.

"It's probably the biggest day of our lives, as golfers, to see the Ryder Cup come here."

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