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"Ryder Cup success? If there are those who want to continue to say that golf is a sport for the rich, let them continue to talk about a sport for the rich. But I wonder, are all the people who come here to Marco Simone rich? I've seen so many of them who don't have a rich face, or clothes, or anything.
The fact that golf is the most practiced sport in the world together with football excludes the possibility that it is practiced only by the rich".
Franco Chimenti, statements
Franco Chimenti, president of Federgolf, said this during the last day of the 2023 Ryder Cup underway at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.
"Beyond the numbers, we are talking about an event that produced great enthusiasm without conflicts of any kind. Two different continents face each other, but underlying there is the sense of friendship that characterizes this sport - continues the president - The victory is there: when I thought of the Ryder for Italy, my thoughts went beyond the immense crowd that joined us in these days".
The competition, named after the trophy donated by Englishman Samuel Ryder (1858–1936) to the American federation in 1924, is co-managed by the European Tour and the PGA of America. From 1927 to 1971 the tournament took place between the selection of the United States and that of Great Britain, with a clear American dominance (15-3) and only one draw.
Ireland was incorporated into Great Britain in 1973 and the rest of continental Europe in 1979. Following the acceptance of the European team as an antagonist of the US team, the tournament was much more balanced: from 1979 to 2018, in fact, there were eleven successes for Europe, eight for the United States and only one draw.
The Ryder Cup is hosted alternately on the two continents in odd-numbered years. For Europe, British golf courses have historically always been chosen, with the exception of the editions of: 1997, played at the Valderrama Golf Club (Spain) in honor of the former Spanish golfer Severiano Ballesteros, 2018 played in Saint-Quentin-en -Yvelines (France) and, lastly, in 2023, which was held at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (Italy).
Due to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the scheduled edition of the Ryder Cup was played the following year, consequently moving the competition to even years, until the 2018 edition. The following tournament, scheduled for 2020, was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus moving the Ryder Cup to odd years again.