U.S. Captain Zach Johnson and European Captain Luke Donald in front of the Roman Colosseum. | Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
The Americans are heading to Rome this weekend to scout the golf course and likely draft plans for the Ryder Cup.
The Americans are heading to Rome.
Three weeks from Friday, the first tee shot will be struck at Marco Simone Golf Club, the site of the 44th Ryder Cup.
But plenty of American players have little to no experience of playing this golf course. The DP World Tour’s Italian Open is held at this venue each year, but the field comprises of mostly European or DP World Tour players.
Hence why Captain Zach Johnson is bringing his team to Rome for an advanced scouting trip.
In a social media post from the official Ryder Cup USA account, pictures showed Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Johnson, and Brooks Koepka walking down a jetway to board a plane.
Additionally, that same account posted a video of an airport suitcase carrying a Team USA hat on Thursday evening. The video then panned to the flight information, which depicted a departure for Rome at 6 p.m.
Typically, when flying to Europe from the United States, flights take off in the evening, so they arrive on European soil early the following day local time, thanks to the time change.
So the Americans arrived on Friday morning.
They will likely get some practice on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, before returning to the States early next week. They will also share meals, have meetings, and spend time with one another, thus strengthening the bond of the team. Perhaps they will create the pairings that will comprise the opening two days of the competition, too.
But unlike the Europeans, the 12 Americans will not play in a tournament with one another ahead of the Ryder Cup. All of Team Europe is playing in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth next week.
While the Europeans are in England for the BMW, Justin Thomas and Homa are scheduled to play at the Fortinet Championship in Napa Valley. Homa is a two-time defending champion.
The Americans are the defending champions of the Ryder Cup, having won at Whistling Straits in 2021. They hope to go back-to-back, too, and if they do, it would be the first time since 1991 and 1993 that the Americans win consecutive cups. 1993 was also the last time Team USA won on European soil.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
