The Real Federación Española de Golf is working closely with stakeholders from across Spain and Catalunya, including the Sports Council of Spain (CSD), Generalitat de Catalunya, Camiral Resort, Diputación de Barcelona, Diputación de Girona, Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona, City of Barcelona, City of Girona, City of Caldes de Malavella and the Federación Catalana de Golf, to develop their bid dossier for submission to the European Tour Selection Committee by 30th April 2015.
Gonzaga Escauriaza, President of the Real Federación Española de Golf, said: “Few countries in the world have contributed as much to the development and promotion of European golf as Spain has over the last 30 years. Bringing The Ryder Cup to Spain is a central part of our strategy and will continue our proud PGA European Tour heritage. The Ryder Cup’s power to drive participation amongst new players and showcase our world class courses across the globe is unique. We are delighted to have received so much committed support from stakeholders and we look forward to submitting a compelling bid to the European Tour.”
Iván Tibau, Secretary General for Sport, Generalitat de Catalunya, said; “The world cities of Barcelona and Girona will be the gateways for golf fans from across the globe to experience the world leading cultural attractions, hospitality and landscape of Catalunya. We have a world class venue, established infrastructure and an unparalleled track record of delivering the world’s largest events. We should be very confident in our credentials and our ability to meet all of the requirements of a modern Ryder Cup. All of our partners recognise the wide ranging benefits that The Ryder Cup will generate – our bid committee is unified in their commitment to bring The 2022 Ryder Cup to Catalunya.”
Denis O’Brien, Camiral Resort proprietor, said; “From its inception, the Stadium Course was designed and built with the intention to one day host The Ryder Cup. Hosting the 2022 match would be the realisation of this vision. We have worked extremely hard and invested significantly in recent years to make Camiral Resort unique. It is much more than a golf resort; it is a global golf destination. We have plans to further develop our courses and luxury property offering to introduce to the world the next generation of golf resort. This bid has our full commitment.”
RFEG is partnering with The Sports Consultancy to manage Catalunya’s bid response.
About the candidature
Readily accessible from the world renowned cities of Barcelona and Girona, the Camiral Resort has been voted Spain’s No. 1 golf course for 3 consecutive years and was recently awarded the title of European Golf Resort of the Year 2015 by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators.
Barcelona and Girona are connected by a high speed rail line, transporting passengers between the two cities in just 37 minutes. Camiral Resort is also at the centre of the highway network and served by 2 international airports.
The beaches and holiday resorts of the Costa Brava are a short 25 minutes drive from the course.
Catalunya has an extensive track record of hosting the world’s largest events. In the last 12 months, the region has hosted Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix, golf’s Open de España, MotoGP, the FIBA Basketball World Cup and the FINA World Championships.
About The Ryder Cup
Started in 1927, The 2022 Ryder Cup will be the XLIV edition of this biennial competition between teams from Europe and the United States. Until 1979, there were only British golfers in the European Team. Since then, continental European golfers have been included in the team.
Since the changes of 1979, nine editions of The Ryder Cup have been played in the United States, five in England, one each in Ireland, Wales and Scotland, and one in Spain (Valderrama 1997). The next editions of The Ryder Cup will take place at the Hazeltine National Golf Club (Chaska, Minnesota, USA) in 2016, Le Golf National (Paris, France) in 2018 and Whistling Straits (Kohler, Wisconsin, USA) in 2020.