Paolo dreams of having two Italians in Donald’s Rome Ryder Cup squad
This time next year, we will be reflecting on how the Ryder Cup has just been won or lost as Europe tries to win it back.
But for organisers, the challenge is to make Rome’s Ryder Cup an unforgettable one.
The two captains, Europe’s Luke Donald and Zach Johnson of the USA, last week took part in the One Year to Go celebrations.
It involved playing the Marco Simone course, the venue for next year’s match, an audience with Pope Francis and picture opportunities at some of Rome’s most-famous historical sites, including the Coliseum.
Gian Paolo Montali, pictured inset, the Director General of Ryder Cup 2022, knows he is in for a demanding year but he was inspired by the recent victory of Guido Migliozzi at the Ope de France at Le Gol National.
“My dream is to have a minimum of two Italian players in the Europe team,” he told The Sunday Post.
“Migliozzi has all the credentials to be there. For me, he is a typical Ryder Cup player and you saw that in Paris where he was not afraid to take risks to win.
“If he continues to have good results, I am sure he will have a great chance.
“I am also sure that Francesco Molinari will be back this year. His skills and experience will be very useful.
“We saw that there was no French player in the team in 2018 in Paris. That was a pity. So I push and hope for a minimum of two.
“My other dream is to have Tiger Woods as a vice-captain of the American team. To have Tiger in Rome would be fantastic or the Ryder Cup. For us, it would be like having Diego Maradona or Pele attend, he is that big. Or the Beatles coming back!
“That would be fantastic and it would create huge Media interest. So I really cross my fingers for that to happen.”
Golf has never known a year like it with the emergence of the rebel LIV Golf circuit, and the Ryder Cup has not been immune.
Henrik Stenson was stripped of Europe’s captaincy in July after signing up to the Saudibacked LIV Tour while three of America’s record-breaking team from last year at Whistling Straits – Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau – are ineligible having been suspended from the PGA Tour.
Whether the five European players involved 12 months ago who have signed up to LIV, could be involved in Rome will only be known following the result of a court case in February.
But Montali hopes all that will have been sorted out long before the players arrive in the Eternal City.
“I prefer not to get into the politics of it,” he said.
“What I will say is that in my first life as a volleyball player, I only ever played to win. But I always wanted to win against the strongest opponent.
“For this, I hope the best players can be there, as long as they abide by the rules. That elevates the standards.
“But I respect the choice of the DP World Tour and the PGA of Europe.”
In Italy, football rules supreme, but having the Ryder Cup on Italian soil is a chance to showcase the sport to a new market.
And Montali hopes that the Roman legacy will be the creation of a new generation of Italian players.
“We expect the Ryder Cup to enter into the homes of ordinary Italian people,” he admitted. “We have been working on this for over six years already.
“This is not just the mostimportant golf match in the world, it’s a dream come true for us.
“This is the image of our country and it’s a chance to create a generation of players inspired by the Ryder Cup.
“While for visitors, the atmosphere will be great before, during and after the match.
“We hope this is the most iconic match in the event’s history as the Ryder Cup comes to most iconic city in the world, the city where it all began – the Eternal City.”