Ryder Cup 2018: "This great victory is for everyone involved in French golf."

Mitch Phillips reports that France and Le Golf National won the 2018 Ryder Cup bidding.

The 2018 Ryder Cup will be played on Le Golf National course in Versailles, near Paris after the French bid won a five-way contest on Tuesday to host the biennial match against the United States.

European Tour officials made the announcement at their base in Wentworth, saying one of the main draws had been the "outstanding spectator viewing." France will become only the second country in continental Europe to stage the Ryder Cup after Spain in 1997.

"We always believed. The world of French golf was united and that did not escape European Tour bosses," Pascal Grizot, chairman of the Ryder Cup Committee at the French Golf Federation, said in a statement.

"This great victory is for everyone involved in French golf."

This Euro Tour site story quotes the disappointed Spaniards, who had made a late surge and had the most impressive looking bid. But we know looks meant little in this contest!

Following the announcement, Gonzaga Escauriaza, President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation (RFEG), said: “Madrid would have been a fantastic venue for the Ryder Cup in 2018, but unfortunately our dream has not come true. I honestly believe we could not have produced a better bid, and I have been extremely proud to be a part of it. I hope that Spain will one day be given the opportunity to host the Ryder Cup again.  Congratulations to France on their victory, I’m sure they will do a fantastic job”.