Colsaerts appointed European vice captain
LONDON: European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald appointed Nicolas Colsaerts as his third vice captain for next year’s event in Rome.
The Belgian golfer, who turned 40 last week, joins Thomas Bjorn of Denmark and Edoardo Molinari of Italy as vice captains for the European team.
Colsaerts helped Europe win the 2012 Ryder Cup and has three tournament victories on the European tour.
“My first reaction when Luke asked me was sheer joy,” Colsaerts said in a statement. “Every time I hear the words ‘Ryder Cup’, it takes me back to the edition I played in, how proud I was to wear the European colors and be part of such an unbelievable event.”
Bjorn and Molinari were both appointed by Henrik Stenson, who was stripped of the role as Europe’s captain after joining the Saudi-backed LIV Golf breakaway series.
Donald kept both Bjorn and Molinari after replacing Stenson and said the choice of Colsaerts as his third vice captain had “been on my mind for a couple of months now.”
“I played on the team with him in 2012 and you could just see how much it meant to him,” Donald said. “He understands what it means to represent the European crest and what it means to be part of the Ryder Cup setup.
When I asked him, he literally had goosebumps.”
The 2023 Ryder Cup will be played at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome from September 26-October 1.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands will host the Solheim Cup for the first time after being chosen to stage the biggest team event in women’s golf in 2026.
Bernardus Golf will host the event, organizers said. The course in Cromvoirt, a village in southern Netherlands close to the historic cathedral city of Den Bosch, opened in 2018 and has already hosted the Dutch Open on the men’s European tour in 2021 and 2022 and will do so again next year.
Catriona Matthew, who was Europe’s captain for Solheim Cup victories in 2019 and 2021, described Bernardus as “an amazing venue.”
“It kind of reminded me a little bit of a links course,” Matthew said. “There’s going to be a lot of risk-reward on the last few holes so it’s going to be exciting and that’s what the fans want to come and see.”
Europe will defend the trophy against the United States at Finca Cortesin in Spain in September next year.
The Solheim Cup will then revert to being held in even years, with Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia hosting in 2024.