The 2023 Junior Ryder Cup takes place this week in Rome from Tuesday September 26 - Thursday September 28 at Golf Nazionale and Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.
Format
In a change to the previous format, the Junior Ryder Cup will now take place over three days instead of two with Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, the Ryder Cup venue, hosting the decisive singles matches for the first time, which will also be broadcasted live on television.
Golf Nazionale, which hosted the Italian Challenge Open earlier this year, will be the venue for the first two days of foursomes and fourballs between male and female juniors from Europe and the United States on Tuesday September 26 and Wednesday September 27. The competition will then move to Marco Simone Golf & Country Club on Thursday September 28, the day before the venue hosts the Ryder Cup itself, providing an exciting curtain-raiser to golf’s greatest team contest.
Golf Nazionale
Golf Nazionale, located near the city of Rome, is recognised as one of the best golf courses in continental Europe and one of the most challenging courses in Italy, which follows the natural undulations of the hilly terrain. Golf Nazionale provides a true test of golf for the highest calibre of golfer due to the deep rough, undulated greens, water features and numerous strategically placed bunkers. Players must also consider the sharp elevation changes which bring about some spectacular views over the Lazio countryside.
The course was designed by Jim Fazio, with the help of the Italian architect David Mezzacane and opened in 1990. In 1991 the course hosted the World Cup of Golf which saw Swedish duo Anders Forsbrand and Per-Ulrik Johansson claim victory by one stroke over Welsh pair Ian Woosnam and Phillip Price.
Marco Simone Golf & CC
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, designed by the famous architect Jim Fazio, has been completely renewed by Tom Fazio II and the European Golf Design to host the Ryder Cup in 2023. The redesign focused on creating a golf course specifically with the drama of match play in mind.
The back nine was completed and reopened in October 2020 before the full 18 holes were officially completed in March 2021.
Additionally, the clubhouse underwent further renovation, with a new practice ground also being constructed in 2022.
The venue was built in the 1980s under the ownership of the fashion designer Laura Biagiotti and her husband Gianni Cigna, when 150 hectares of rolling Roman countryside was transformed into a prestigious golf course on the outskirts of Rome.
Team Europe
The 2023 European Junior Ryder Cup team, captained by 2014 Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher, consists of six boys and six girls. The six automatic qualifiers included three boys - Englishman Kris Kim, Ireland’s Sean Keeling and Germany’s Peer Wernicke - and three girls - Spain’s Rocio Tejedo, Swede Meja Örtengren and Germany’s Helen Briem.
Six players were then selected by Gallacher: Scotland’s Connor Graham, Ukraine’s Lev Grinberg and Italian Giovanni Binaghi for the boys, while Sweden’s Nora Sundberg, Spain’s Andrea Revuelta Goicoechea and Italian Francesca Fiorellini were selected for the girls.
U.S. Team
The U.S. Team, which is seeking its seventh straight victory and owns a 7-3-1 all-time record in the biennial competition, features six boys and six girls who are U.S. citizens and members of the high school graduating class of 2024 or younger.
The 2023 U.S. team includes Junior PGA Championship winner Gianna Clemente, Leigh Chien, Kylie Chong, Anna Davis, Ryleigh Knaub, Yana Wilson for the girls. The selected boys comprises Junior PGA Championship winner Miles Russell, Jackson Byrd, Billy Davis, Nicholas Gross, Will Hartman, Jay Leng Jr.
