europe Who Wins the 2018 Ryder Cup?

The 2018 Ryder Cup will be played somewhere in continental Europe, and five nations have pulled out all the proverbial stops in an effort to land the prized international golf event.

The contending nations have put on their best marketing faces, just as they do when they vie for events like the World Cup and the Olympics. They’ve summoned ghosts from Ryder Cups of the past, called in chits with powers that be, and hired promoters to butter up officials of the PGA European Tour, which oversees the selection.

To be sure, they’ve also thought long and hard about what may be the key element on the Tour’s wish list. “Essential to the bid critera,” the Tour announced last summer, “is a commitment to the development of a world-class golf facility.”

It sounds as if the Tour is saying that it expects to play the 2018 Ryder Cup on a brand-new course.

If that's the case, you can pretty much say au revoir to France, which has identified an existing track in suburban Paris, Le Golf National’s Albatross course, as its venue of choice. You can also add a little weight to the bids from Spain, Portugal, and Germany, which intend to build new courses specifically to host the 2018 Ryder Cup.

As for the Netherlands, it wants to stage the event at to-be-built or to-be-completed courses that weren’t specifically designed for the Ryder Cup but could certainly be suitable venues. How much does that count for?

And what about the designers of the golf courses -– will they influence the Tour’s decision?

It’s an important question, and here’s why: If the 2018 Ryder Cup is played on a new course, it could very well be one designed by an architect who works for the Tour. That’s because three of the courses in contention -– those in Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands -– have been designed or co-designed by architects from European Golf Design, a British company that was jointly created by the Tour and IMG, the Cleveland, Ohio-based sports marketing firm. By keeping things in the family, the Tour would allow some extra money to trickle down to the bottom line.

The Tour will select a winner sometime soon, perhaps as soon as next month. Here’s how the courses and the nations stack up:

France. The Federation Francaise de Golf has hired IMG, one of the Tour’s closest allies, to develop and deliver a winning message to the selection committee. The message is this: While France won’t build a new golf course, it’ll give both the Tour and the world of golf something with broader, longer-lasting value. It’ll create generations of golfers.

If France wins the cup, the FFG says it’ll help to build 100 driving ranges and “short” courses (pitch-‘n’-putt or par-3 tracks) in cities across the nation, in an effort to broaden golf’s appeal beyond its traditional white, male, middle-class base. France currently has 410,000 registered golfers, and the FFG believes it can, with the Ryder Cup’s promotional help, increase the number to 700,000 by 2020.

A year or so ago, when China announced a similar plan, it was hailed by golf organizations all over the planet. But so far, neither the Tour nor any other prominent voice in golf has uttered even a single word in support of France’s proposal. Is it more important to “grow the game” in Beijing than in Bordeaux? Or is it just that the money is better?

As far as a venue goes, the Albatross course -– already a “stadium” course -– has hosted the French Open for nine consecutive years and is well-liked by touring pros. And the FFG, which owns Le Golf National, says it’ll spend whatever it takes to make the track an ideal Ryder Cup venue.

The Netherlands. The Netherlands had an outstanding showing in the most recent World Cup, but it doesn’t carry much sizzle in the world of golf. That’s why it’s a long-shot to win the Ryder Cup.

A Ryder Cup in the Netherlands would be played on a Colin Montgomerie “signature” course at the Dutch, in suburban Amsterdam. The course, which was supposed to open in late 2010 (it doesn't appear to have opened yet), has been co-designed by Ross McMurray of European Golf Design. The Dutch expects to eventually build a second course, a Sam Torrance “signature” track that will likewise be co-designed by McMurray.

Spain. Spain hopes to bring the 2018 Ryder Cup to a new, Robin Hiseman-designed course in Tres Cantos, a northern suburb of Madrid. The Royal Spanish Golf Federation and some private-sector partners will foot the bill for the track, which will have viewing areas for thousands of spectators and ample space for revenue-producing corporate hospitality tents. As a bonus, the federation plans to build a second 18-hole course suited to amateurs.

Extra point: Hiseman works for European Golf Design.

Seeing that the course would be custom-fit for the Ryder Cup and designed by an architect who works for the Tour, what’s not to like about Spain’s bid?

Two big things: First, Spain has already hosted the Ryder Cup once (in 1997), so the Tour may be inclined to award the event to another nation. Two, Spain’s economy is a wreck. Although the state of a nation’s economy may not be important to the average golf fan, it’s vital to the Tour, which uses the Ryder Cup to maximize what it calls “commercial opportunities.”

Portugal. Portuguese golf officials are pinning their hopes on a Tom Fazio-designed course at Herdade da Comporta, a resort community that's to take shape on waterfront property along the Alentejo coast, about an hour's drive south of Lisbon. The site is said to be sandy and bumpy and especially well-suited to golf, and Fazio has by far the highest profile of any designer in the Ryder Cup mix.

Even better, Fazio's course, to be known as Comporta Links, has been co-designed by Ross McMurray of European Golf Design.

On top of all that, Herdade da Comporta is being developed by a heavy hitter with experience in golf development: Espirito Santo Group, a conglomerate that controls Portugal’s second-largest bank. I'm thinking that financing won't be a problem Espirito Santo. Plus it sure doesn't hurt that the company already owns several golf courses in suburban Lisbon, including the 36-hole Ribagolfe complex and Quinta do Peru Golf & Country Club.

One final note: Espirito Santo plans to build two golf courses at Herdade da Comporta. The community's other course, a David McLay Kidd-designed track, is also supposed to be worthy of hosting a Ryder Cup.

Germany. Germany's bid is led by Bernhard Langer, a former Ryder Cup captain, and supported by two true financial heavyweights: Audi, the car manufacturer, and Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds, a big investment firm with substantial land holdings.

By all accounts, a Ryder Cup in Germany would be staged at what’s being called “the Audi Course,” a track to be built somewhere near Munich, presumably on property owned by Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds. It’s possible that the location would be Neuburg an der Donau, a town about 50 miles north of Munich.

No, the course won’t be designed by an architect from European Golf Design. The design will be done by Thomas Himmel, an architect based in Gauting, Germany. Himmel is currently working on solo projects in China, Switzerland, and Poland, and he and Langer are co-designing courses in Russia and Hungary. It seems likely that Langer could be persuaded to co-design the Audi Course.

A new course built with strong corporate support in a nation with a stable economy –- all that sounds like the making of a champion, doesn’t it? But if it appears that Germany is in the driver’s seat, consider this: BMW is the Tour’s official car-maker and the sponsor of its annual championship.