Will Tiger fancy Italian job in 2022?
“My dream is to have Tiger in Italy,” he says. “If he is not able to play, my dream is for him to be captain of the US team.
“I hope to bring Tiger to play one or two Italian Opens before then. That can help to make the sport more popular in Italy.
“I come from other sports, volleyball and football, but golf is different.
“The other players are very happy Tiger has come back. In other sports, they would be jealous. But Tiger is an icon of the sport and this is very good for golf.”
Paris has basked in the glow of playing host to the biggest show in golf, and it will be a tough act to follow.
While Le Golf National is an established European Tour destination, work has only just started at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club on creating the Ryder Cup course, with a scheduled finish in April 2020.
On the surface, it would seem there is much to do, but the Italians are aiming high.
Montali’s ambitious plan is to call upon some of Rome’s historic landmarks, like the Colosseum or the Forum to bring extra spectacle to the event.
But his job has been certainly been helped by Francesco Molinari’s Open win at Carnoustie this summer and his dynamic performances alongside Tommy Fleetwood here to boost golf’s profile in football-mad Italy.
“When you do this job, it is very important to remain cold and objective,” he says. “I was at Hazeltine two years ago and now I am here to learn and study.
“This course is amazing and the place is fantastic. But we must think big. We have four years to do better than Paris.
“One important difference, here we are not in Paris, we are near Paris. In Italy, we will be in the heart of Rome, 15 minutes from the city centre.
“We have so many fantastic historical places in Rome. My aim is to have the Opening Ceremony in the heart of the city, not at the course.”