The 44th Ryder Cup will be hosted by Italy, for the first time in its history.
The venue is the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club just outside Rome, which has previously hosted the Italian Open. For a more detailed look at its 18 holes, we have compiled a hole-by-hole guide to the course.
Italian players to represent Europe with distinction include Costantino Rocca and the Molinari brothers, Francesco and Eduardo.
Seven of the last eight contests have been won by the home side, the exception being the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ in 2012 where Europe recovered from 10-4 down to pull off a remarkable victory.
Nine of the US team made a recent scouting trip to Marco Simone as they bid to secure a first win on European soil since 1993, but many of the European side have contested the Italian Open at the venue over the last three years, with Robert MacIntyre (2022) and Nicolai Hojgaard (2021) winning the title.
How can I watch on TV?
NBC are the broadcasters in America, where viewers will either have to stay up late or wake up very early to catch the morning sessions on Friday and Saturday. When the Ryder Cup was played in France five years ago, play began at 2.10am Eastern Time, with the afternoon sessions starting at a more civilised 7.50am Eastern Time.
No such worries for viewers in the UK, where there will be exclusive live TV coverage on Sky Sports. In 2018, the first matches went off at 7.10am BST. Click here for full details of how to watch the Ryder Cup.
What is the Ryder Cup?
One of the most-watched sporting events in the world, the Ryder Cup is distinctive for inserting competitors from an individual sport into a team environment. Aside from the golf, the team dynamics and relationships have made for compelling viewing.
Amateur golfer and businessman Samuel Ryder conceived the idea of a match between British and American professionals, with the inaugural Ryder Cup played in Massachusetts in 1927.
The match was played between an American and British or British and Irish team until 1977.
After nine USA victories and one tie in 10 meetings, Jack Nicklaus wrote a letter to Lord Derby (then president of the British PGA) suggesting Britain and Ireland merge with Continental Europe to make the Ryder Cup more competitive.
Ryder Cups became far more closely fought and dramatic by the mid-Eighties, and the extravaganza we know today was born.
Who are the Ryder Cup captains?
Europe will be led by Luke Donald, who replaced Henrik Stenson last year after the Swede was stripped of the title because of his defection to LIV Golf. The USA captain is 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson.
Who’s on the teams?
Team Europe
Six players qualified automatically – the three leading players on the European points list and the next three players on the world points list. The qualification period ended on September 3.
The six leading European players are (from the European points list) Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Robert MacIntyre and (from the world points list) Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick.
For his six wildcards, Luke Donald picked Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry, Nicolai Hojgaard and Ludvig Aberg.
European golfers who are playing on the LIV Golf tour were not permitted to qualify for the Ryder Cup. This is because European Ryder Cup players must be members of the DP World Tour (formerly known as the European Tour) and those players who signed up with LIV were forced to give up their places on the DP World Tour.