RORY vs Scheffler! Jon Rahm vs Brooks Koepka!
Captain Luke Donald vs captain Zach Johnson!
Can the Ryder Cup of 2023 get any better than that?
Short answer: You bet it can!
The United States are defending champions – having hammered the Europeans at Whistling Straits two years ago.
But wait! This time it’s being played in Europe, at the Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome.
The first time it has been played in Italy and certain to bring the most parochial of crowds to witness golf’s biggest event of the year.
And guess what? With or without LIV players in their ranks, the Europeans can win.
Granted, the absence of England’s Ian Poulter and almost certainly American Patrick Reed might take a fair bit of the ‘needle’ out of the event. They’re both players that their opponents love to hate … and beat.
Team Europe made the decision early on not to pick any LIV players so that’s ‘arrivederci’ to Poulter as well as Cup legends like Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood.
The cocky Americans, on the other hand, in their desperation to hang onto the Cup have agreed that LIV stars like Brooks Koepka and probably ‘Mr 58’ Bryson Dechambeau can play.
Is that enough to turn back the European challenge?
I think not.
American skipper Zach Johnson has some very handy vice-captains in Steve Stricker, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk and Fred Couples to keep him on top of things during the Cup, which runs from September 25 to October 1.
Yet you could also argue that European captain Luke Donald, thrown into the deep end when Henrik Stenson lost his captaincy spot for joining LIV, will have just as much support with the like of Thomas Bjorn (a former winning captain), Nicolas Colsaerts and Italian Edoardo Molinari as his deputies.
If you look at the Cup certainties from both sides, there is barely a struck match between them.
It will be great theatre to watch the likes of McIlroy, Rahm, Hovland and Fleetwood take on the US big guns like Scheffler, Koepka, Schauffele and Cantlay.
While the Cup may be won or lost there, I prefer to suggest it is in the lower-rated players that will really decide who takes home the Cup this year.
That’s where the spectators may come into play and will need to do their bit.
The last time the Ryder Cup was played on European soil, in France in 2018, more than 270,000 spectators flooded Le Golf National. That Cup reached more than 600 million homes with more than 160 countries tuning in to watch the events live on television.
Certainly, this Ryder Cup is the ideal tool for promoting a sport that boasts 65 million players worldwide. Even Australian golfers walk and talk it (and cheer for Europe, mostly).
So, to the golf course: Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, designed by the famous architect Jim Fazio, and completely renewed by Tom Fazio II and European Golf Design to host this year’s Cup.
This course has already hosted three editions of the Italian Open as well as some other important professional and amateur tournaments.
Measuring 7299 metres, with a par of 72, it unfolds in an exceptionally-large area, giving the players a real sense of freedom.
Its proximity to Rome is regarded as an added attraction to visiting Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.
Like Le Golf National, this course’s amphitheatre, as well as lakes, shape the landscape and create some spectacular views. It can comfortably host 50,000 visitors a day.
So where will the Cup be won and lost?
Well, some key holes will definitely be the second and the 15th, for varying reasons.
The second can give these champion players the chance for an early lead.
It’s a 435m par-4 indexed as the hardest hole on the course and can certainly set up a streak for the best players in the world.
A long dogleg left par-4, there’s a bunker on the central line of the hole.
According to the golf instructors at Marco Simone, these experienced golfers can play over the bunker with a good drive, leaving a medium iron to reach the green.
For those who choose the safest line on the right side of the fairway, it will require a long iron for their second shot, paying attention to the bunker positioned 40m before the green.
Still, it is the 15th hole where many matches may be decided.
With a stroke index of two, the second-hardest hole on the course, measuring 438m, is a long uphill par-4 starting from above with a slight dogleg right.
According to the experts, the way to play this hole for these ‘experienced’ masters of the game, is to keep to the left side of the fairway to avoid ending up in the bunker positioned on the right side.
Then there’s a second shot, with a medium iron, to reach the flag.
A poor tee shot – and let’s be honest, under pressure, there could be a few, leaves players with a long iron to the green and brings three bunkers protecting the green on the right side into play.
And should they all make it to the final holes. Well, the 17th is a pretty par-3 with water encroaching on the left-side of the green and could again bring some drama if the players get too greedy and go for a left-side flag.
The final hole is a par-5 that these superstars can reach in two – if they have a crack.
Measuring 570m, this hole has a wide fairway that allows powerful players to reach the green with the second shot – as long as they’re careful of the water hazard front left of the green.
Bring it on! The Cup may be won by someone in the last group; on the final hole.
And we can’t wait.
RYDER CUP TEAM SELECTION
THE US Team will be made up from the top six eligible players in the points rankings with six captain’s picks.
The European Team will be made up from the top three eligible players from the European Points List, the top three eligible players from the World Points List and six captain’s picks.
RYDER CUP SCORING
EACH match is worth one point, with matches ending in a tie worth ½ point to each side. The first team to reach 14 ½ points wins the Ryder Cup. If the matches end in a 14-14 tie, the team holding the Ryder Cup retains it.
Points: The three days of the matches consist of 28 total matches, each of which is worth one point. There are no extra holes in Ryder Cup matches. Should the two sides be tied after 18 holes, each side earns a half point.
Claiming the Cup: To win the Ryder Cup outright, a team must collect 14 ½ of the 28 points available. In the case of a 14-14 tie, the winning team from the previous Ryder Cup retains the trophy.
Conclussion: Unlike stroke play, players don’t have to complete each hole in match play. If a player concedes a stroke – almost always a putt – to his opponent, the opponent picks up his ball, takes the score he would have made on the next stroke and moves on to the next hole.
