Welcome to GOLF.com’s “Seen & Heard” video series, in which we give you an inside look at golf’s biggest events through the eyes and ears of our onsite crew. On deck this week: the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome. Let’s go!
ICYMI: Inside Ryder Cup Day 3: Can Team Europe reclaim the Ryder Cup this week?
ICYMI: Inside Ryder Cup Day 2: Team USA’s practice, Marco Simone’s perilous rough
ICYMI: Inside Ryder Cup Day 1: the Colosseum, pasta, early Marco Simone findings
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Sure, the GOLF.com team is in Rome for this year’s Ryder Cup, but one doesn’t travel to Italy and not attend a soccer match. So before the competition heated up on the grounds of Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, GOLF’s foursome fully embraced the sights, sounds and cheers of a Lazio vs. Torino match.
As the team made their way toward the course, Sean Zak couldn’t help but stuff himself with some Italian staples: bread and cheese.
In his words, “We’ve spent too much time here and haven’t seen a meaningful golf shot” — but fear not, because that was about to change.
Nearly immediately after arriving at Marco Simone on Thursday for the final day or practice, the crew experienced a similar vibe as the soccer match the night before, with the energy of the crowd being absolutely electric.
Fans echoed golfers’ chants, and singing and jubilation in the stands made it feel like a college football game — not the scene from a Ryder Cup. If that was the level of anticipation for the practice, imagine how it’s going to be over the next few days during the actual competition! Just unreal.
Walking the grounds, the group met some of the more electric figures in the crowd, which included a group of four Swedes rewording an ABBA song for Team Europe’s Ludvig Aberg. Given their fandom, GOLF’s Dylan Dethier asked the fans for their Ryder Cup predictions — with each unsurprisingly choosing the European side as champs.
“28-0 [in the favor of the Europeans]”, one man quipped.
Another went a little more in depth, providing a witty stat to support his pick.
“If you win 3-1 or 4-0 in the first session on Day 1, you’re 80% likely to win [the tournament],” he confidently states. “So we will win 3-1 and will be 80% likely to win.”
Moving on from Team Europe supporters, the GOLF team found some Team USA fans to chat with. Unsurprisingly, they were bleeding red, white, and blue — and their predictions matched up with their American Evel Knievel threads.
“I think it’s a blowout,” one fan proudly said, before the group announced their confidence in Open Championship winner Brian Harman.
“I like Harman winning the most. If we’re gonna win; Harman most points.”
After some fun with the crowd was over with, GOLF’s James Colgan made his way toward the 1st tee — well, beneath the grandstands at the 1st tee — capturing the nerves that each player will need to overcome during the Ryder Cup.
“This is basically the most intimate place in all of the Ryder Cup,” expresses Colgan. “We are inside the 1st tee box, right here at Marco Simone.
“Directly above us, you can literally see the stands where thousands are going to be packing in, pumping the energy and noise. Guys are going to walk down this, basically alone, and see this for the first time.”
The Ryder Cup’s most revealing spot comes just before you’d expect
Finally, to close out the day, the team joined the entire crowd to hear the player pairings for Friday’s morning’s matches.
Some shock, lots of excitement and plenty of intrigue followed as each group was announced — with the GOLF team dropping some of their own predictions and really absorbing how big of an event the tournament feels.
“There’s so much build up to this event. All of a sudden, there’s going to be four matches out there, and because it’s alternate shot, it’ll be like a relay race — you’ll hand the baton to your teammate and you’re putting up points,” said Dethier.
While nobody knows for sure how things will shakedown at this year’s Ryder Cup, golf fans can expect lots of drama and plenty of exuberance for each shot.
You can check out the GOLF’s team full experience on Thursday in the video above.
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