Who is charged with the job of choosing the venue for the next Ryder Cup?
Given the heat surrounding the decision to take this year’s cup to Paris, some will hope the answer is easier to stomach. You might think that the European Tour, organisers of the event, and the LPGA would announce ahead of time who they want to stage the biennial event for the next four years. But there has been so much wrangling over who is getting involved that no-one has quite got their act together yet.
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Instead, with a decision approaching, they continue to rotate the job of choosing a host to be announced annually in the middle of March. It has taken nine years to get to this stage with Royal Liverpool, Hazeltine National, Hazeltine National, Hazeltine and Gleneagles standing by.
This year, Hazeltine National in Minnesota was replaced by Le Golf National, the proposed venue for next year’s Ryder Cup in Paris. In a twist, the US had privately approached the Paul McGinley-led European Tour in an attempt to find a rival location. Golf’s answer? They chose the French.
Ironically, the US won’t be left with little to do either. They have also lost their traditional role of choosing the venue. Seldom will a new international event be under as much scrutiny as the Ryder Cup.