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A large fire broke out around 5pm in the area of the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, in Guidonia Montecelio, which hosted the Ryder Cup last weekend, with an extraordinary technical, organizational and public success.
Ryder Cup, fire
According to what was reported by the firefighters, a three-storey grandstand of approximately 120 square meters, adjacent to the tee of hole 1, was completely engulfed in flames. The firefighters intervened in via di Marco Simone with three teams, two tankers, a ladder truck and the TAS unit.
All the roads leading to the structure are closed, primarily via Palombarese, and there are severe slowdowns on the Grande Raccordo Anulare. There would have been no harm to peoplle. In addition to the Fire Brigade, several police cars are also on site: the possibility of evicting the homes around Marco Simone is being considered due to the unbreathable air in the entire area.
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[1].
Among the European ranks, it is worth mentioning the presence, on three different occasions (1993, 1995 and 1997), of one of the most famous Italian players in the history of golf, Costantino Rocca, remembered for his famous hole-in-one during the edition of 1995.
The Italians Francesco Molinari and Edoardo Molinari were the first brothers to compete for the European team in the same Ryder Cup, thanks to their simultaneous participation in the 2010 edition. Francesco Molinari also took part in the 2012 editions, in the United States , and 2018, in France.
The reigning champion selection is the European team that won the title in the 2023 edition.
Insane footage from Marco Simone today, hopefully no injuries/ casualties #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/f1z333I9Q5 — Conor Nolan (@ConorN11) October 5, 2023