The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Reachable par-4 16th could be Ryder Cup turning point
Rory Mcilroy’s chances of winning the Italian Open a year ago at the Marco Simone course, which will host this week’s Ryder Cup, vanished when his tee shot on the reachable par-4 16th splashed into the pond right of the green.
That came two days after Europe captain Luke Donald made a novice’s error by hitting the wrong ball upon landing in the thick rough, earning himself a two-stroke penalty and a triple-bogey.
A year earlier, Tommy Fleetwood’s bogey on the same hole meant that he ended up finishing one stroke behind the winner, Nicolai Hojgaard.
If there’s one hole on the course outside Rome that is destined to be decisive in this year’s competition between the United States and Europe, it’s No. 16 — as long as contests make it that far in the match-play format.
Bob Mcintyre and Adrian Meronk, the last two Italian Open champions, both birdied 16 in their final rounds.
“Dave (Sampson) of European Golf Design made a course fit for drama,” Marco Simone superintendent Lara Arias said in a recent interview. “And that’s what you want in a Ryder Cup. Everyone is going to be saying, ‘Wowwww.’ That’s the Ryder Cup.”
Measuring 352 yards, the safe play on 16 is a 200-yard downhill tee shot that sets up a wedge to the green with a pond to the right. But it will be tempting to hit a driver, which must fly 300 yards to cover a creek, with two bunkers guarding the green and the water on the right.
Holes Nos. 5 and 11 are also potential driveable par-4s.
“What’s good about Marco Simone is it’s got a lot of long holes, a lot of short holes. It’s got a lot of left, lot of right, lot of up, lot of down. It’s got a lot of character. And I think that’s a sign of a really good golf course,” United States captain Zach Johnson said.
“So it’s got some long par-3s, it’s got some short par-3s. It’s got some long par-4s, short, driveable par-4s, some par-5s that you can get after. So for this tournament and for the format that we play, it’s magnificent.”
Sustainable rough
Another signature of the Marco Simone course is the high, brown native grass beyond the narrow fairways.
“The rough is thick,” Donald said after his team held a training camp on the course this month. “The primary rough is pretty similar to what we played in the Italian
Open. Outside of that, with some wayward tee shots it’s very thick where you could lose some golf balls.”
The native grass is indigenous to the area — meaning it was probably around during the times of Ancient Rome, as evidenced in colorful plant-themed mosaics unearthed in a first-century Roman villa next to the 10th hole.
Hilly and hot
Two more key factors at Marco Simone figure to be the physical test of walking the hilly back nine potentially twice a day for some players — and doing that in sapping heat and humidity.
Temperatures are forecast to rise above 85 degrees.
The elevation on the back nine allows for views of St. Peter’s Basilica 12 miles away from the 11th green and other spots.
“The potential heat could be a challenge with the hills,” Johnson said. “It probably will be one of the warmer Ryder Cups in Europe — certainly in my time it’s going to be the warmest. Even if we have a 70-degree day, that would be warm based on where we played in the past.”