JACOB SJOMAN TEEING OFF
JACOB SJOMAN TEEING OFF 50 NetJets
Can Zach Johnson’s high quality US team maintain its grip on the old trophy or will Luke Donald’s mixture of proven major winners and talented youngsters capitalise on a home draw and superior course knowledge to win the cup back for Europe at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome this autumn? Nick Bayly ponders the imponderables of this most intriguing of transatlantic tussles. RYDER CUP IN FOCUS TO THE HILLS Marco Simone promises a challenge to form and fitness THE HOSTING OF the 44th Ryder Cup at the stunning Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, located just 16 kilometres from the centre of Rome, will see Italy become only the third nation in mainland Europe – after Spain in 1997 and France in 2018 – to host the biannual match-play event. And while European golf fans will be praying that the result goes the same way in Rome as it did for Seve Ballesteros just over a quarter-century ago at Valderrama and for Thomas Bjørn’s merry band of men in Paris just five years past, there is no doubt that the 2023 renewal of this drama-filled clash will be one of the most keenly observed in recent years, given the state of flux that the professional golf tours on both sides of the Atlantic are currently experiencing. Neutrals will, of course, be hoping not only for a close fight, with matches that go down to the wire, but also one that allows the game’s best players, and not just those whose faces fit the bill (or were on your chosen side of the LIV-PGA split before the merger). European captain Luke Donald will effectively be leading his team with one hand tied behind his back in that, as things currently stand, he will not be able to call on the services of LIV golfers and experienced Ryder Cuppers such as Lee Westwood, Sergio García, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson – the latter being the man Donald replaced as captain – despite the fact that the DP World Tour has now resolved differences, while US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson has the now much easier job in whether to have PGA Championship winner – and LIV golfer – Brooks Koepka in his team, should the Floridian continue his strong run of form in the majors, and fellow LIV golfer Dustin Johnson should be a shoo-in starter now that LIV Golf has been effectively absorbed into the PGA TOUR. NetJets 51
