- Title: VARIOUS: GOLF: Spain and Portugal's bids for the 2018 Ryder Cup
- Date: 18th May 2011
- Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (MAY 4,2011) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF SPANISH BID FOR 2018 RYDER CUP JUAN JOSÉ ABAITUA SUNER SAYING: "Our main asset, I would say, is the golf course itself. It's going to be one of the best golf courses, I would say, in the world. And apart from the course, the design itself, which is absolutely marvellous, it (asset) is where it is loc
- Embargoed: 2nd June 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Spain, Portugal
- City:
- Country: Portugal Spain
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA5E7EWLNJQQ7DHU84V4YD71RV0
- Story Text: Portugal and Spain express confidence in their bids ahead of the hosting announcement for the 2018 Ryder Cup.
The Portuguese committee bidding to host the 2018 Ryder Cup believes a unique natural setting, the year round mild climate and the development of a brand new golf course in harmony with the environment makes the country the ideal candidate to win the hosting rights.
Portugal is one of five countries bidding to host the exclusive team event, with an announcement on the successful venue to be made at Wentworth in England on Tuesday (May 17).
Boasting a total of 742 hectares, the future Comporta Links project is on the Alentejo coast and around an hour's drive from Portuguese capital of Lisbon.
The Herdade da Comporta group, which owns the private estate of 12,500 hectares, is planning to develop an integrated tourism project, on which two courses will be built in time for the Ryder Cup.
The renowned architect drafted in for the design and construction of the course is Tom Fazio, who has designed over 200 courses in the United States and also works as a course consultant for Augusta National and Pine Valley among several others. This will be his first project in Europe in 40 years.
Fazio will be working in unison with European Golf Design (EGD) and organisers believe plans for the course to be developed in harmony with the natural surroundings and in accordance with the very best practices is what makes Portugal's bid stand out.
"In terms of the type of soil we have here it's perfect for building a golf course," said Carlos Cortes, Co-Chief Executive of Herdade da Comporta and a bid committee member
"The type of topography is also perfect, (there's) fantastic views from each hole and makes it a memory for every golfer, and I think this is a key point. The other key point is the weather."
Organisers believe the mild all-year Portuguese climate is essential for any would-be host and a "key advantage for Portugal," according to Cortes.
The Comporta course will be built regardless of the outcome of the decision on May 17. Organisers say if Portugal wins the bid, there will be a finished course ready for use in 2013, without a win, in 2015.
However, they believe it is the legacy that counts, both for the Cup and for the country.
"By having the Ryder Cup in Portugal, this would add to our brand as a golf destination and tourism is extremely important for us," said Manuel Pinho, Portugal's bid committee chairman.
"For a large country having one additional event is not that important, for us that would be fantastic."
Organisers estimate the economic impact on hosting such an event at around 300 million euros, creating jobs and attracting tourists, journalists, golfers and spectators to an unspoilt region of natural beauty.
Organisers hope that a state of the art course built from scratch, the weather, and working to preserve the region's traditional farming activities such as rice and wine harvesting will bring the Ryder Cup to Portugal in 2018.
Meanwhile they believe they have the land and design to build one of the best golf courses in the world and that is why confidence is high in Spain's bid team over their chances of winning the right to host the 2018 Ryder Cup, bid director Juan Jose Abaitua says.
A 229-hectares area on the outskirts of Madrid will be transformed into a Ryder Cup course if Spain wins the hosting rights.
Spain last hosted the Ryder Cup in 1997 at the Valderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande.
Despite the greater area of Madrid boasting more than 25 courses, the Spanish Golf Federation has decided to build a brand new one in order to satisfy all the requirements to host golf's largest team competition where the best players from the United States and Europe gather every two years.
Abaitua talked up the proposed course as potentially "marvellous" and could be built and ready for use in two years.
"Our main asset, I would say, is the golf course itself. It's going to be one of the best golf courses, I would say, in the world," he said.
Abaitua added that the course, set against a backdrop of the Guadarrama mountains and situated just 23km north from the centre of the city, in the town of Tres Cantos, should be a strong candidate for the bid because of its convenient location.
"It is very close to Madrid, it's about 20 kilometres outside Madrid, very well communicated (connected), very close to a railroad main station in a town called Tres Cantos, has very easy access by road, by train, some 35 kilometres away from the Madrid International Airport."
Madrid faces stiff competition in the hosting race with venues in France, Germany, Portugal and The Netherlands all vying for the coveted competition.
But Abaitua believed Spain's bid was a strong one with a significant government support.
"They have a shortfall in that area, I would say. They don´t have such a strong argument behind as we have here, having the local government, (in fact) all the government behind the bid.
"And that is what I think (makes us) very well placed, " said Abaitua.
"If we have to tick a box, I would say we´ll tick all the boxes," he added.
Spanish golf legend Seve Ballesteros, who played in eight Ryder Cups and captained Europe to victory in Spain in 1997, died earlier this month but was an the ambassador of the Spanish bid and features in a promotional video.
Abaitua said the Ryder Cup provides an extraordinary legacy for the hosting cities and so the goal of the Spanish Golf Federation was to help Madrid become a golf tourist destination and to promote the sport among young people. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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