The Ryder Cup is coming to Italy for the first time. On Monday, the European Tour announced the Eternal City, Rome, will host the biennial matches in 2022.
Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, about 11 miles from Rome's city center, will host the competition pitting a dozen European-born players against 12 Americans. The club becomes the third outside of Great Britain and Ireland to host the event, joining Spain's Valderrama, which hosted in 1997, and France's Le Golf National, which will host in 2018.
The Italian bid beat final bids from Germany, Austria and Spain. What likely sealed the deal was a commitment to not only perform a complete renovation of the host club, but also guaranteeing a €7 million prize fund for the Italian Open for the 11 years after the 2016 event. In 2016, the purse will double from €1.5 million to a minimum of €3 million.
Three Italians have competed in the Ryder Cup: Costantino Rocca, Edoardo Molinari and Francesco Molinari.
Future Ryder Cup sites through 2024:
- 2016 -- Hazeltine National, Chaska, Minn., USA
- 2018 -- Le Golf National, Paris, France
- 2020 -- Whistling Straits, Sheboygan, Wis., USA
- 2022 -- Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Rome, Italy
- 2024 -- Bethpage Black, Farmingdale, N.Y., USA
