The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place from September 29th through to Sunday 1st October and promises to be an enthralling event although there are huge doubts about which players will eventually be allowed to compete.
Bookies have already installed the USA team as strong favourites at odds of 4/7 whilst the European captain will be slightly dismayed to see his team quoted at odds of 15/8 with the majority of UK bookies.
General admission tickets for the bi-annual match event which will be held at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of Rome were snapped up earlier this year but well heeled fans can still access hospitality packages for premium prices.
For example tickets for the Founders Lounge on the opening day are available via the official site at the mighty price of 2879 euros each – if that seems not too bad be very careful as you have to buy a table for six which will set you back 17 274euros – Ouch !
Similar high end fine dining experiences are available on other days but are totally out of reach of 99.9% of the population. The majority of golfing fans will be more than content to enjoy the superb coverage provided by SkySports.
Hopefully the bookies will be wrong with their expectations and Team Europe may well put in a very strong performance. It’s worth remembering that the USA have not won the Ryder Cup in Europe for 30 years since the Belfry in 1993.
With the current crisis in golf caused by the LIV Tour and the fact that many leading US players may well not be allowed to play for their team having joined LIV Golf it is entirely feasible that a European team captained by Luke Donald but led by the inspirational Rory McIlroy will outplay their opponents over the three day competition.
With possible legal action to come over the next 12 months from players and the various Tours and governing bodies involved it would be a brave man to say with any certainty the likely makeup of the teams when the ball is actually teed up.
My prediction is that the odds of 15/8 for a European win could look fairly generous this time next year.