Netjets US Summer 2023

TEEING OFF
Personnel issues aside, there is no doubt that Marco Simone
will provide a suitably drama-inducing challenge for both
sides. Although not quite as challenging as Paris National
when it comes to its use of water hazards, there is enough of
the wet stuff out there, along with other man-made hazards, to
ensure that the players will have to think twice before blindly
pulling out the driver on many of the par fours and fives, while
the par threes also pose some devilish demands on accuracy,
especially if the wind gets up, as it is prone to do in the fall in
these parts.
Marco Simone was first built in the 1980s under the
ownership of fashion designer Laura Biagiotti and her
husband Gianni Cigna, when 370 acres of rolling countryside
was transformed into a prestigious golf course on the
outskirts of the Eternal City. As with most previous Ryder
Cup venues, the course, which has hosted the last two
renewals of the Italian Open in order to give European players
an early sighter, has undergone a significant remodeling to
fit the demands of the world’s foremost team match-play
event, with European Golf Design, in cooperation with Tom
Fazio II, carrying out a significant redesign which was finally
completed in the spring of 2021.
The changes focused on creating a course specifically tailored
to create match-play drama, with the previous layout rerouted
not only to provide numerous risk-and-reward holes, but also to
maximize the natural rolling terrain. Spectators will now enjoy
unrivaled vantage points of the on-course action, as well as
distant views of Rome, including spectacular views of St. Peter’s
Basilica and of the castle of Marco Simone, which together will
provide a memorable backdrop to what will hopefully be equally
memorable sporting drama unfolding in the foreground.
Either way, the stage is set for one almighty showdown. So
pull up a chair, plump up the cushions, uncork the burgundy,
and settle down for yet another edition of the greatest golfing
show on Earth.
THE TEAMS
Although we are still some time out from knowing the six
automatic qualifiers for each 12-man team, and even further
from knowing who the captain’s picks might be, both squads
are taking a semblance of shape and it won’t require too much
imagination to fill in the blanks. Nailed on starters for Europe are
ROMAN EMPIRE
From top: Captains Johnson
and Donald, right, at the Ryder
Cup launch at the Colosseum;
lush greens and arid rough at
Marco Simone.
Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, and
Tyrrell Hatton, while the rookies currently in the frame include
Frenchman Victor Perez, Poland’s Adrian Meronk, Germany’s
Yannik Paul, and Spaniard Adrián Otaegui. Experienced Ryder
Cuppers Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, and Tommy Fleetwood all
need a good summer to get into Donald’s notebook, but will be
hard to leave out, while the likes of Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard
and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre will need a win or two in the
next few months to justify inclusion. Sadly, it looks unlikely that
Italian fans will have a home-grown player to cheer on unless
Matteo Manassero finds some form, which is looking unlikely,
while Francesco Molinari is hopelessly out of touch.
As always, the U.S. team has a solid look to it on paper but
one that doesn’t always travel well. The qualification ranking,
which is far simpler than the European list, currently features
Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark—who not only won his first
ever PGA TOUR tournament in 2023, but also held off McIlroy
to win the U.S. Open in Los Angeles—Brooks Koepka, Xander
Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, and Max Homa in the top six,
with Keegan Bradley, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Cameron
Young, Sam Burns, and Ricky Fowler filling the next six berths.
That currently leaves out the likes of Tony Finau (18th), British
Open champion Brian Harman (20th), Dustin Johnson (35th),
Bryson DeChambeau (46th), at least two of whom Zach Johnson
would probably like in his team. Johnson says he plans to bring
his final 12-man squad over to Marco Simone three weeks before
the matches to give them a proper look at the course, and in
that respect they should be a team that is better prepared for
an away leg than ever before.
THE CAPTAINS
EUROPE: LUKE DONALD
Donald was probably some way down the list of former greats
in the frame to captain the European Ryder Cup team, with
the likes of Westwood, García and Poulter probably ahead of
him. But with those players, along with preferred first choice
2023 captain Stenson, forced to resign their DP World Tour
memberships during the LIV standoff, Donald stepped manfully
into the breach. As one of the more intelligent and thoughtful
players to have graced the pro circuit in recent years, his
enquiring mind and willingness to listen to the counsel of others,
while holding strong opinions of his own, will serve him well in a
“ drama-inducing
Personnel issues aside, there is no doubt
that Marco Simone will provide a suitably
challenge for both sides.
52 NetJets