24 of the world’s best players will tee it up this week at Italy’s Marco Simone Golf and Country Club for the 44th playing of the Ryder Cup. Named after the Briti💝sh businessman Samuel Ryder, who donated the first trophy after the initial tournament in 1927, the Ryder Cup has become one of the world’s greatest sporting events. Every two years, the best players from Europe and the United States go 🧸head-to-head in match play format with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe.
With Europe being the host country for this year’s event, Italy was surprisingly selected in December 2015 ahead of Austria, Germany and Spain. The Italians pitched luxurious Marco Simone Golf & Country Club and its perch overlooking Rome and the dome at St. Peter’s Basilica as the host course. Located in Guidonia, just 10 miles outside of Rome, it will be the first Italian golf club, and only the third in continental Europe to host the event.
The course was redesigned in 2018 with the int🧜ention of transforming it into a course worthy of championship match play golf with risk/reward options on many holes. It was also rerouted to maximize the natural rollin꧟g countryside terrain. Spectators will have unrivalled vantage points of the action as there are numerous high points to view multiple holes at once.
As part of the DP World Tour schedule, three Italian Opens have been played here over the past three years and have given observers an insight into what is in store for the participants this week. From its strenuous elevation changes and rolling hills to its narrow fairways, thick rough, and elevated tiered g🥂reens, Marco Simone will provide an intriguing test.
In the all-time standings, Team USA leads the series 27-14 with two ties. At the last Ryder Cup in 2021 held at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, Team USA defeated Team Europe 19-9 to clinch the largest margin of victory in the event’s modern history.
The Teams
The qualifying criteria for each team are different. For the U.S. a points system has been in place since the 2019 season with players collecting points up until the completion of the 2022 BMW Championship. The top six players on the points list 🐠secured spots on the U.S. team with the remaining six players selected by Captain Zach Johnson following the completion of the 2023 PGA TOUR season.
Qualification for Team Europe began at the 2022 BMW PGA Championship, the fourth Rolex Series event of the 2022 season. It concluded on September 3, 20🥀23, when the six players who qualified automatically were confirmed. These six automatic qualifiers will comprise the three leading players on the European Points List followed by the three leading players on the World Points List. European Captain Luke Donald will then select a further six Captain’s Picks to complete his 12-man team to face the United Statesღ.
U.S. Roster: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Patri🅰ck Cantlay, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa😼, Rickie Fowler and Sam Burns.
European Roster: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Robert MacIntyre, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrelဣl Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Justin Rose, Shane Loꦰwry, Nicolai Hojgaard, and Ludvig Aberg.
Ryder Cup Format and Scoring
The Ryder Cup uses a match play format instead of the typical stroke play format that is us♋ed each week on the PGA Tour. Match play is a form of competiti🦂on where a player (or players) plays directly against an opponent (or opponents) in a head-to-head match. You win a hole by completing it in the fewest number of strokes, and you win a match when you are winning by more holes than remain to be played. Since 1979, the Ryder Cup has consisted of two days of four-ball and foursome matches along with one day of singles matches.
FOUR-BALL
Each member of a two-man te🔯am plays his own ball, so four balls are in play on every hole. Each team counts the lowest of its two scores on each hole, and the team whose player🥀 has the lowest score wins the hole. If the low scores are tied, the hole is halved.
FOURSOMES
Each two-man team plays one ball per hole with the players taking turns until each hole is complete. Players alℱternate hitting tee shots, with one leading off on odd-numbered holes, and the other hitting first on even-numbered holes. The team with the low score on each hole wins that hole. If their scores are tied, the hole is halved.
SINGLES
Each match features one player from eac༺h team. The player with the lower score on each hole wins that hole. If their scores are tied, the 🎃hole is halved. Players can concede a hole to their opponent if they have no chance of halving the hole.
Scoring: Each match is worth one point, with matches ending in a tie worth ½ point to each side. There aಌre no extra holes in Ryder Cup matches. The first team to reach 14 ½ points wins the Ryder Cup. If the matches end in a 14-14 tie,ཧ the team holding the Ryder Cup retains it.
Tale of the Tape
Here is a look at how the teams stack up from a rank, form, and match play history perspective. Players are shown with their Official World Golf Ranking. Form is measured using DataGolf’s adjust🗹ed strokes gained per round over the last 12 months. Three data points are used for match play history. The first is past overall Ryder Cup record. The second is career singles record in match play competition, which, along with the Ryder Cup, also includes the Dell Match Play event and the Presidents Cup. Finally, each player’s career tea🍃m record in both foursomes and four-ball competitions in those same events is also included.
Hole Preview
Hole #1 – Par 4, 445 yards
There’s nothing subtle abou൲t the 445-yard uphill par 4 that begins the round at Marco Simone. No friendly handshake. No gentle warm-up. Players must fit a confident drive between a bunker on the left and two more further up on the right which are 300 yards from the tee. The 1st features a deep green angled over a bunker and a prominent ridge that creases the front third.
Hole #2 – Par 4, 506 yards
The first bunker in the left middle of the fairway will be easy for most to carry at 275 yards from the tee. The two bunkers beyond it, however, will force players to aim for either the 30-yard stretch in between the sand traps or to a short slither of fairway to the right of the far bunkers. On approach, golfers will face another uphill shot to a cro꧑wned green where a miss long will force players into an uphill chip from some of the thickest rough on the course.
Hole #3 – Par 4, 453 yards
The third presents players with the option of being bold off the tee by cutting the right corner of the fairway. The real danger on this hole (and in many places throughout Marco Simone) is the deep native grasses that border the fairways and swallow errant tee shots. Hole 𝕴locations in the front of the wide green will allow for birdie opportunities. But when they are shifted to the tiered back sections, par will be a quality score.
Hole #4 – Par 3, 188 yards
Playing downhill, the first par 3 is a short iron to the green for most players. The two bunkers to the𒈔 right of the green especially impact shots when the flag is placed in the back right corner. The two-tier putting surface is the hole’s secondary defense. Swirling winds can also come into play in this low cove where the hole is located.
Hole #5 – Par 4, 302 yards
The water hazard that is in play on the left will undoubtedly cause many golfers to club down and lay up off the tee on this short par 4. To maximize match play excitement, the tee can be moved up t🔥o entice players to try and drive the green. The green itself slopes from back to front with two bunkers behind the playing surface.
Hole #6 – Par 4, 381 yards
The sixth is another short par 4 that is the only hole from the original routing that remains in the same place. It run between an out-of-bounds area on the right and a grove of stone pine trees near the green on the left. The main decision off th🍌e tee is whether to lay back of the fairway bunker on the right or try 🍬to fit a drive past the bunker to a 25-yard wide fairway section for a blind wedge up to a green that has a series of quadrants separated by distinct ridges.
Hole #7 – Par 3, 222 yards
With flexible tee boxes, the seventh can range from 145-220 ya🅰rds. The multi-tiered 🌺green is nearly 50 yards deep. The safe miss is to the right. Any errant shot to the left may bounce down an embankment into a penalty area.
Hole #8 – Par 4, 525 yards
Though listed as a par 5, at only 503 yards, the eighth is essentially a long par 4. The green is easily reachable in two shots by any player. To do so, however, requires an accurate 200+ yard shot directly over the water to a raised putting surface that increasingly narrows towards the back left. With the water hazard directly in play on the left throughout the entirety of the hole, laying up is a safer option with a spacious fairway a🐟rea just beyond the double stone pines on the right.
Hole #9 – Par 5, 587 yards
Running in the opposite direction of the 8th, this second consecutive par 5 is much tougher to reach in two shots. A bunker at 275 yards squeezes the landing area and forces a decision on whether to lay up to the 40-yard wide fairway short of it or to bomb away and carry it to set up a chan✱ce to reach the green in two. The water on the left is only in play for extremely errant shots. The three bunkers bracketing the elevated green 🐽require precise approaches. A miss long is the worst scenario as beyond the green lie some of the thickest native grasses on the entire course.
Hole #10 – Par 4, 453 yards
The fairway at the par 4 10th rolls through a small valley along the southern boundary of the course. It bottlenecks at the 300-yard mark shrinking the landing zone from 40 yards down to just 22 yards. Any wayward drive to the right will most likely find a ravine filled with penal native grasses and a stream running through the length of the fairway boundary. Though massive in size, the heart-shaped green is an elusive target with a false front and a back-right section framed by three bunkers. The toughest hole on the course, at the 2023 Italian Open, this hole produced 144 bogeys or worse comp▨ared to just 42 birdies.
Hole #11 – Par 4, 329 yards
The par 4 11th was designed to entice players to go for the green from the tee. The front of the green is just over 300 yards away, but the hole plays uphill, and a false front will repel shots back down the fairway. Hole locations can also vary the difficulty of the hole and cause players to ponder the correct strategy off the tee. Tucked pins on the left behind the bunker might influence players to lay up to the right side of the fairw✃ay in order to create a better angle to attack the hole.
Hole #12 – Par 5, 546 yards
The 12th tee is the high point of Marco Simone and provides panoramic views to numerous holes and beyond that to Rome itself. The tee shot is downhill, and the dogleg left shape will tempt longer hitters to attempt a diagonal carry over the trio of bunkers which run from 270 to 305 yards away. Clubbing down to the widest part o𓂃f the fairway will still give players a chance to reach the tiered green in two shots.
Hole #13 – Par 3, 150 yards
While the 13th is the shortest hole on the course, the exposure to wind and the prospect of missing t🃏he green down the hillside on the left puts renewed emphasis on accuracy off the tee. Players will be hitting into yet another split-level green where finding the right quadrant will be key to gaining a putt for birdie.
Hole #14 – Par 4, 509 yards
The 14th is yet another lengthy par 4. This 500-plus yard dogleg left hole plays downhill. Only the longest players will be able to cut the corner and carry the bunker on the left side of the fairway. The approach plays toward a deep green cut into the side slope of a hill. Shots that m🌊iss to the riꦺght will end up falling sharply into a deep bunker and result in a challenging sand save.
Hole #15 – Par 4, 479 yards
This long par 4 plays as the second toughest on the course. Bending back in the opposite direction ﷽from #14, the 15th plays back up the hill. The slight dogleg right presents a trio of bunkers at the corner that must be dealt with. Players who shy away from the sand traps and choose to lay up will be left with a 190 yard semi-blind uphill approach shot. The green is large and open on the left with a hไigher plateau on the right. Approaches that find the correct tier will have a reasonable two-putt for par.
Hole #16 – Par 4, 303 yards
The driveable 16th is full of both risk and potential reward. The conservative play is a 200-yard iron off the tee either to the right or left of the bunker in the middle of the fairway. Golfers who attempt to drive the green will do so at their own peril. Not only is there a creek that bisects the fairway at 225 y🐷ards but the pond on the right is a death trap to anyone errant on their attempt at driving the green. Matches will be won and lost here.
Hole #17 – Par 3, 206 yards
The par 3 17th was built into a long fescue-covered ridge that slopes away to the left towards a creek that runs the length of thꦡe hole. The deep three-tiered green🏅 is just 15 wide and presents one of the tightest restrictive targets on the course. Players can use the natural embankment on the right to keep shots from getting into the deep rough beyond. Errant shots to the left will not be so fortunate as the green slopes away into a low collection area with the creek directly in play. Precision on the approach is paramount on this hole.
Hole #18 – Par 5, 597 yards
The par 5 finale will play over 600 yards on most days. With matches potentially on the line, there are a variety of outcomes on this risk/reward hole. The drive is downhill and the fairway is one of the most inviting on the course. The main dilemma comes with the second shot as the water hazard angled behind theไ green and the fairway bunker 30 yards short of the green must both be reckoned with. Performance around the green will be crucial on this hole.
Course Features
Marco Simone Golf and Country Club is an average length par 71 course that officially measures 7,181 yards. Over the lastꦜ two Italian Opens held here, the scoring average has been around +0.90 strokes over par. While birdies to win holes will be in abundance on the par 5s and the shorter par 4s, this is a challenging course where pars and even bogeys could win a decent number of holes.
The first thing that stands out about the course, and one that will be a huge topic of conversation all week, is just how hilly the terrain is. The elevation changes are dramatic, and from a player’s standpoint, they will be grueling. It is 155 feet from the low point in the middle of the front nine to the high point on the back nine.
Five-time Ryder Cup veteran and U.S. Vice Captain, Stewart Cink called it “probably the most demanding physically of any Cup course I’ve ever seen.” With temperatures in the mid-80s, the stamina needed in these conditions will play a factor in lineup creation, as it will be less likely that players will compete in all ౠfive sessions of the three-day event. “Guys are going to be happy to rest,” Cink said. Making matters even more challenging is 🤪the condensed nature of the event. With two sessions on Friday, two sessions on Saturday, and singles on Sunday, the top golfers on each side would have to play five full rounds in just three days.
With dramatic elevation changes come uneven lies and the occasional blind shot, whether off the tee or on approach. Marco Simone takes this aspect to an entirely new level as there are no less than n✅ine blind uphill approaches into elevated greens where players can only see the top of the pin. Most professional golfers strongly prefer courses that are straightforward with every shot visible and in front of them. In that regard, Marco Simone will definitely challenge the comfort zone of all 24 players this week and make mental toughness a strong trait to possess.
Another important aspect of Marco Simone that the Europeans believe plays into their advantage is the combination of narrow fairways and thick, penal rough. Fairway widths vary considerably at the landing areas, from 18 to 26 yards across. The European team, led by captain Luke Donald, dictated the set-up, including fairway widths and mowing heights. Reports indicate that the rough isn’t uniform U.S. Open style but gnarly, patchy, and severely penal. Balls can easily be lost in the thick fescue just yards off the first cut of light rough. “For playability, the rough is going to be deep, and it’s going to get juicy. And that is what they want. If you hit in the fairway, you’re rewarded,” said Dave Sampson who led the redesign of Marco Simone in preparation for the Ryder Cup.
The course definitely builds well to a climax. From the 14th hole onwards, players will be faced with a pair of tough par 4s, the 303-yard drivea🐽ble 16th, the toughest par 3 on the course at the 17th and a water-laden par 5 where any score from eagle to double bog🌜ey is in play.
What makes Marco Simone such a great choice for a match-play event of this magnitude is that on nearly every hole players will face strategic choices on a variety of hole types including three potential driveable par 4s. Said Viktor Hovland on the course, “I still don’t think it’s an amazing stroke-play event or golf course, but for match play, I think it’s going to be super exciting because there’s a good mix of the holes that are easy that you can make birdies and you can make eagles. There are also some extremely difficult holes where if you make a par, you could win the hole. So, I think that makes for a really good Ryder Cup because you’re not going to see too many halved holes.”
Others, however, don’t have the same opinion of the course. DP World Tour veteran, Oliver Wilson, who has played in multiple Italian Opens at Marco Simone and who played for Europe at the 2008 Ryder Cup had a lot to say about the course. “No holes stood out for me, which is the problem really. The greens are immaculate, the surfaces brilliant. And yes, the undulations are nice and the green complexes are really good. But there are nine greens you can’t see when you are hitting your approach shot. There is so much elevation change. So the holes are not amazing. Not once did I think, ‘This is a great hole.’”
The greens are slightly on the larger side at an average of 6,770 square feet and are multi-tiered and undulating. Throughout the layout, players will hav♛e to negotiate the 76 bunkers, while the eight holes with water h🥃azards in play should only add to the riveting match-play drama.
The agronomy at Marco Simone features a mixture of grass types. Greens are Pure D𒅌istinction bentgrass which is known for its smooth and true playing surf🉐ace with dense, upright growth. “The greens have been great,” Sampson. “Every player has loved the greens and the roll that they have.”
Tee boxes, fairways, collars, and other short grass surrounds are Pure Dynasty paspalum. This blend allows for varying heights of cut and delivers a surface with tighter density along with heat and cold resistance. Like any paspalum blend, the ball tends to sit up high on the grass and allow for near-perfect lies. Rounding out the turfgrass for this year’s Ryder Cup is the aforementioned rough which is a blend of PureLinks fescue.
Strokes Gained Analysis
Off the Tee
One thing for sure that the data from past events here at Marco Simone tells us is that strong overall driving off the tee is vital for success. The combinatioꦦn of tightened fairways, strategic bunkers, numerous doglegs, and penal rough all combine to offer a huge challenge to players on the tee box. While the European team actually has an edge in distance of the tee, the course setup would appear to place an edge on the importance of accuracy over distance. Simply put, hitting the fairway, even if laying up to avoid trouble, gives each player a෴nd team the best chance for success on the remainder of the hole
Rory McIlroy highlighted the importance of this saying, “If you miss fairways then you’re going to struggle to get to the greens. I think there’s some holes – there’s a couple of short par-fours where if you’re hitting driver off the tee and you miss fairways, you should be punished. There’s a couple longer holes that maybe the rough is not quite as severe and you can at least get like a seven or eight-iron on it and advance it quite a bit down the fairway.” Jon Rahm echoed McIlroy’s comments, adding, “It’s penal. It’s difficult. You have to put the ball in the fairway.”
Approach
While approach play takes a bit of a backseat this week thanks to multiple driveable par 4s and the necessity of sinking putts to win holes, nevertheless, with around nine blind approaches and severely sloped greens, precision on the second shot r𝓰emains key. There are plenty of strategically placed and well-guarded elevated gree🍎ns that will force players to make a choice on how aggressively they want to attack pins. With the greens being tiered and divided into sections, players who miss the correct tier will be left with very difficult two-putts. The American team has a sizeable edge in approach play and should be able to take advantage in this area.
In match play competition, differentဣ strategies off the tee will produce a wide range of proximity distances, but overall around 47% of approach shots will come from 175-plus yards this week. The next highest bucket is from inside 100 yards with approximately 20% of second shots coming from wedge range.
Around the Green and Putting
As is typical with elevated greens, errant approach shots will be repelled toward the numerous bunkers, collection areas, and rough. Chipping from the penal rough and blasting out of these bunkers onto sloping greens will be the most diffi🎉cult of the challenges around the greens. When analyzing the data from the three It🅘alian Opens held here, both scrambling from these areas and ARG proximity are much tougher here than the average DP World Tour course.
As for putting, managing speed and slo🍌pe on these undulated bentgrass greens will be interesting to watch. With the greens divided꧋ into tiers, out of every course played on the DP World Tour, Marco Simone has the highest rate of 3-putts outside of 18 feet at 11%.
Weather Forecast – Rome, Italy
Featured Image Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
