France - host country of the 2018 Ryder Cup
For the first time ever, France will host this year’s Ryder Cup at the Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Over 300,000 spectators are expected to attend the week-long tournament (25-30 September), which will be played on the Albatros championship course.
Golf is the most widely played individual sport in the world, but for the Ryder Cup it becomes a team sport. From 25 to 30 September, the finest golfers from Europe and the United States will go head-to-head on the Albatros course at the Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
The Golf National, which opened in 1990 and is located just outside Paris, is the jewel of French golf and the permanent course for the French Open, and will be used at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.
Created by Englishman Samuel Ryder in 1927, the Ryder Cup is held every two years, alternating between Europe and the United States. Originally, the United States faced only Great Britain and Ireland but since 1979 they have played against a European team.
On 24-25 September, the French Golf Federation will invite 5,000 young people to watch the tournament and learn the basics of golf through educational workshops.
The Ryder Cup is the world’s third most-watched sporting event after the football World Cup and the Olympic Games. It is an opportunity for France to showcase the wealth and diversity of its golfing heritage.
France - a golfing nation
The history of golf in France dates back to 1856 and the opening of Pau Golf Club, which was the first course in France and continental Europe. The French Open, which began in 1906, is continental Europe’s biggest and oldest golf tournament.
France has 735 golf courses, 600 of which have more than nine holes, covering 33,000 hectares of natural spaces.
To learn more about France as a golf destination, see: https://www.france.fr/en/theme-golf
French public authorities are fully supporting the 2018 Ryder Cup, along with the Ministry of Sport, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for tourism, the Île-de-France Region, Yvelines Departmental Council, Paris City Council and the town of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.