Big hit of Italian golf worldwide: the Ryder Cup, in 2022, it will take place in Rome. So decided the Ryder Cup Europe, which preferred our country to Germany, Austria and Spain and reputed the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Capitoline club owned by the Biagiotti family, up to this planetary event. “The Italian bid impressed us with its solidity from an infrastructural, commercial and government support point of view – explains Richard Hills, director of the Ryder Cup Europe Bid Management Team -. The course improvement and enhancement programs are spectacular, as is the commitment to the development of golf in the country at all levels. We can't wait to get to work together with the Italian team to bring the 2022 edition to life".
To understand what it is about, it can be said that Rome has won a lottery equal to, indeed superior to, that of the Olympics, but it will have to play it well. There Ryder Cup is the Europe – United States team match which takes place every two years and is the most watched sporting event on television, globally, together with the Olympics and the soccer world cup. It is a question of having the spotlight focused for a week, concentrated however on a single sports facility, which will be adapted to the occasion. A unique showcase, a limelight that should boost local golf, for now confined to under one hundred thousand players, but above all golf tourism and the creation of courses in an ideal territory such as Italy. The goal was achieved thanks to the competitive results of athletes such as Francesco Molinari, to the support given to the candidacy by the Renzi government, but also to the skilful work of the FIG president Franco Chimenti, obviously satisfied with this historic result.
“A new era is opening for the Italian golf movement – claims Chimenti – and Italy's entry into the elite of world golf is certified. We presented an extremely solid project thanks to the support of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and eight ministries. We can also count on a pool of highly prestigious sponsors: a public and private offer that ensures our golf a future with great prospects. Our path has been shared and supported from the outset by CONI. We beat the competition from golfing nations and that should fill us with pride. The charm of Rome, the extraordinary accommodation capacity and the undeniable tourist appeal have certainly worked in our favour. To all this must be added the proximity to the center of the city Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, a club with a path of great technical content, whose restyling project will enhance its characteristics. The presence of the Biagiotti family has given even more prestige, best representing the made in Italy model”.
Equal satisfaction comes from president of Coni Giovanni Malagò:”It's a victory for the Italian sports system, this confirms that when we play together we are practically unbeatable. And it is also a success of our credibility”.
In a note, the federation recalls that the Ryder Cup was born in 1927 and is held once in the USA and once in Europe. The 1997 edition in Spain and the one to be held in France in 2018 represent the only two European cases of a Ryder Cup outside the United Kingdom. Then there will be Rome.
The capillary diffusion of golf in the world, 61 million players in over 120 countries, added to the presence on the field of the best continental golfers, make the Ryder Cup a unique appointment, capable of attracting 300 spectators from all nations and to connect almost 200 countries, with a network of over 50 television stations and a total of more than 500 million homes reached for each race day. Certainly not negligible are the economic benefits, estimated by the KPMG research centre: 500 million euros, deriving from the organization of the Ryder and related events in the period 2016-2027.
Compliments also from the leaders of the European tour are inevitable. “My congratulations go to Italy, whose full-bodied and ambitious bid has made it possible to become the official venue of the Ryder Cup 2022 – says Keith Pelley, CEO of European Tour – there is no doubt that the Eternal City will represent a marvelous setting for such an important event.
However, the path that will bring the Ryder Cup to Rome will be full of expenses and some numbers are starting to appear on the European Tour website. Not only that the Marco Simone camp, seventeen km from the capital, will be almost completely redone, but it seems that the Federation is committed to upping the ante for the Italian Open at the highest level: an amount exceeding 80 million dollars in 12 years.
“The Italian offer – reads the website of the European circuit – has always been strong. In particular for the commitment to a complete review of the course, to bring it to the highest standards required by the Ryder Cup in Europe and for the extremely significant commitment in favor of the Italian Open, with a guarantee on the prize money: 7 million dollars for the league for 11 years, starting in 2017. In 2016, the prize pool will double from the current figure of 1,5 million, to 3 million".
An impressive leap, which will transform the Italian Open into one of the richest events on the European tour, certainly appealing also to the most important players in the world such as Rory McIlroy. An effort in support of which the president of the Fig, Franco Chimenti, will evidently have found suitable sponsors. With these figures, Italy, together with China, the Emirates and Turkey, is a candidate to become one of the most popular destinations for competitive golf at the highest levels.
