Jon Rahm will open the 44th Ryder Cup with Tyrrell Hatton in the foursomes

Traca to start. And the good. Jon Rahmthe only Spanish golfer in european team of this edition, will open with 44th Ryder Cup golf at Marco Simone in Rome forming a couple in the inaugural foursome at 7.35 am with the English Tyrrell Hatton. And they will do it against the American couple formed by the world number 1 Scottie Scheffler and his good friend Sam Burns.

They will be followed, at 7.50, by Max Homa-Brian Harman (USA) against Viktor Hovland-Ludvig Aberg (Eur), at 8.05 by Rickie Fowler-Collin Morikawa (USA) against Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka (Eur) and finally at In this morning session, at 8:20, Xander Schauffele-Patrick Cantlay (USA) against Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood (Eur). Good confrontation too, very difficult for the Europeans.

The American Captain Zach Johnson has left four major winners like Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Wyndham Clark on the bench, perhaps waiting for fourballs, while the European Luke Donald He brings out a lot of artillery, leaving rookies Robert MacIntyre and Nicolas Hojgaard, veteran Justin Rose and his compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick in the ‘band’.

In the Marco Simone GC Fan Zone there was an inspiring and emotional ceremony, with heartfelt speeches from the captains, with the announcement of the 24 players and the first pairings of the four, with the Italian fighters who drew the flag of the host country in the sky to finish the interpretation of Carli Paoli’s anthem.

An atmosphere with shouts of ‘oé, oé, o’e’ more typical of a football match at San Paolo (now Diego Armando Maradona), Olympic, San Siro or Juventus Stadium. The three days of competition are promising and cannot be left without the support of the Italian, European and American public. Referring to the European, Donald pointed out that “you will be the thirteenth player on the team.”

Fair play, sportsmanship, dignity, integrity, emotion, character, competitiveness and camaraderie were some of the words that came out of the mouths of Zach Johnson and Luke Donald to describe the moment and what Ryder stands for. It’s almost 100 years, 96 to be exact, since Samuel Ryder offered the cup for teams from the USA and, then, Great Britain/Ireland to face each other.

“The Ryder makes this a sport that differentiates us from the rest,” said Donald proudly, replacing Swede Henrik Stenson, who was initially chosen as captain for 2023 and aborted after his ‘signing’ for LIV, very current these days in Marco Simone.

“The best thing about the Ryder, besides winning, obviously, is walking into the Team Room and seeing all these great golfers come together and be part of a team, become friends and have a really special and weird bond all week,” Rahm said. So much so that he would even be willing to pay to participate: “If I have to pay a registration fee to be part of the team? Probably yes, I will,” acknowledged the Basque.

The locker room of the European team has 13 lockers, 12 for team members, and one reserved for Seve Ballesteros, always present at Ryder. As it leaves, players pass in front of a large portrait of the evil Cantabrian ace. And they go out like motorcycles, of course, with the winning instinct that has always been characteristic of the Spaniard.

As many as nine different flags fly in parts of Europe. And up to 16,000 volunteers have signed up for this Ryder located in the former home of Lavinia Biagiotti, owner of property outside of Rome, the Eternal City. The US is seeking its first victory in Europe in 30 years and the old continent, the land of gladiators and emperors, to recapture the precious Ryder.