Rafa Nadal, the best Spanish tennis player in history, winner of 14 Grand Slam tournaments among many other things, has given his support to the Costa Brava – Barcelona 2022 Bid for the organization of the Ryder Cup, joining the large group of celebrities who have already expressed their desire for the golf duel between the European and US teams in 2022 to be held at PGA Catalunya Resort (Girona), the headquarters of the Spanish Bid.
Rafael Nadal, well known for his love of golf, a sport he plays assiduously when his professional commitments allow him to do so – and with obvious success, possessing a very high handicap – has stated that “golf is one of my favorite sports and I would love for the Ryder Cup to be held in Spain in 2022”.
Nadal thus joins the group of ambassadors of the Costa Brava – Barcelona 2022 Candidature, which also includes great Spanish athletes, such as José María Olazábal, Sergio García, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Pep Guardiola, Xavi Hernández…
The 2022 Ryder Cup venue will be announced by Ryder Cup Europe in autumn 2015.
About the Candidacy
The Royal Spanish Golf Federation, together with all the organizations involved in the process -Spanish Sports Council, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona and Girona Provincial Councils, Barcelona, Girona and Caldes de Malavella City Councils, Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona, PGA Catalunya Resort and Catalan Golf Federation-, form a Committee that formally delivered the Ryder Cup Europe Candidature dossier on April 30, 2015.
Barcelona and Girona are connected by a high-speed train line with a journey time of only 37 minutes, as well as being linked by a freeway with fast connection to the two international airports.
The beaches and resorts of the Costa Brava are just a 25-minute drive from the PGA Catalunya Resort.
More than 135,000 hotel rooms available within an hour of the golf course (183,000 including apartments and campsites), more than 80,000 of which are 3-star and above.
Catalonia has a long and recognized track record in the organization of world-class events. In recent months, Catalonia has hosted the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Spanish Golf Open, the Catalan MotoGP Grand Prix, the Basketball World Championship and the FINA World Championship.
Spain has been represented 36 times in the European Ryder Cup team and has captained it twice, with Severiano Ballesteros and José María Olazábal.
About The Ryder Cup
The 2022 Ryder Cup will be the XLIV edition of this biennial tournament -the first was held in 1927- between Europe and the United States. Until 1979 only British golfers were part of the European team, extending participation to players from all over Europe from that year onwards.
Since then, nine editions have been played in the United States, five in England, one in Ireland, Wales and Scotland and one in Spain (Valderrama 1997). The next editions of The Ryder Cup will be held at Hazeltine National Golf Club (Chaska, Minnesota, USA), 2016; Le Golf National (Paris, France), 2018; and Whistling Straits (Kohler, Wisconsin, USA), 2020.
About PGA Catalunya Resort and its Stadium Course
Inaugurated in 1999, PGA Catalunya Resort is endorsed by the celebration of professional and amateur tournaments of the highest national and international prestige, as well as by the repeated and wide recognition of the Stadium Course as one of the best golf courses in Europe. In addition to two prestigious golf courses, PGA Catalunya Resort is the result of an innovative vision for the development of an ambitious residential project.
The Girona course has been characterized since its foundation by its strong sporting commitment, becoming, just 10 months after its inauguration, the only course to host two PGA European Tour events in such a short period of time since its inauguration, specifically the Sarazen World Open in October 1999 and the Spanish Open in April 2000, a tournament that it later hosted again in the 2009 edition, which ended with the victory of the Frenchman Thomas Levet, and in the 2014 edition, where the Spaniard Miguel Ángel Jiménez won.
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