Although a formal announcement is expected by Christmas, several hurdles remain. Nonetheless, O’Brien’s success in securing golf’s premier team event for the Catalan resort pushes England’s wait to host the biennial showdown into its third decade.

The Dubliner, now 66, also owns Quinta do Lago golf resort in Portugal and recently bought the nearby Conrad Algarve hotel for an estimated

€200 million. Since acquiring the former PGA de Catalunya in 2008, he has invested millions in upgrading its golf courses and hotel, and in developing luxury residences on the property.

The Telegraph confirmed widespread speculation in Spanish media that Camiral will be named as the host, though Berni Álvarez, the recently appointed Counsellor for Sport in the Catalan government, noted to El Mundo Deportivo that certain details remain unresolved.

“The Ryder Cup is a viable option, but much work is still required among the parties involved,” Álvarez told the paper. “We’re open to hosting, but budgets need to be settled first.”

All that’s left is for Catalonia’s government, the Generalitat, to approve a €40 million, seven-year investment for the project—a decision likely to be a formality. Ramón Nogué, President of the Catalan Golf Federation, remarked that the once-remote resort is now more accessible, being only 10 minutes from Girona Airport and about an hour from Barcelona, thanks to new motorways.

Camiral Golf & Wellness was built on land originally reserved for a Formula One track and designed with the Ryder Cup in mind by Angel Gallardo and Neil Coles. Although Portmarnock had also shown interest, the 1997 Ryder Cup ultimately went to Valderrama, owned by the late Bolivian billionaire Jaime Ortiz-Patiño.

The Ryder Cup often draws wealthy owners, as it is seen as a crown jewel for affluent golf enthusiasts. Smurfit’s K Club hosted in 2006, Sir Terry Matthews’s Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010, and McManus’s Adare Manor will host the centenary Ryder Cup in 2027.

“No other Irish club could afford the investment required to stage a Ryder Cup,” Smurfit told Golf Digest Ireland in 2006. “It’s a business—a huge investment—and both the PGA and European Tour depend on it for income.”

On the U.S. side, the 2021 event was held at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, a remote location owned by the late billionaire Herb Kohler.

O’Brien commented during the 2023 bidding process—when his resort was initially passed over in favor of Rome’s Marco Simone—that the Stadium Course at Camiral was always intended to host the sport’s largest events. For 2031, the Ryder Cup course will feature a blend of holes from the Stadium Course and Hills Course, which hosted the European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage from 2008 to 2016. This picturesque, tree-lined course also hosted the 2014 Spanish Open, where Miguel Ángel Jiménez won in a playoff.