Portugal has officially launched a bid to host the 2018 Ryder Cup, it has been announced.

The bid is supported by Don Jaime Ortiz-Patiño, the founder of Valderrama, which staged the 1997 event.

Chief executive of the Portuguese Golf Federation, Miguel Franco de Sousa, said: "We entered the bidding process later than the other contenders but we genuinely believe we have come up with a proposal that the European Tour, the PGA and the PGA of Europe will find hard to discount.

"Our job, at this stage, is to make it difficult for the Ryder Cup authorities to ignore us and that's exactly what we have done. The bid provides a trophy course which we are convinced will soon be regarded as the finest in Continental Europe and a resort which will be developed with environmental sustainability very much in mind.

"It's also the only bid that will significantly affect the growth of the GDP of the host country and will leave a lasting legacy for the European Tour, both by guaranteeing support for 36 tournaments over a 12-year period and by providing the tour with a significant equity-based return."

France, Germany , Holland and Spain are also bidding to host the event. The winning venue is expected to be announced in April 2011.