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Italy could be at risk of losing the 2022 Ryder Cup after losing a funding guarantee of almost €100m for the event.
Organisers of the match, which is scheduled to take place at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club just outside Rome, will have to find new funds after the president of the Italian Senate stripped off an amendment to a bill that would’ve provided €97m.
Should an alternative method of funding not be found, Italy may lose
its chance to host the match as the guarantee was one of the conditions
necessary to hosting it.
“The Ryder Cup is and remains a great opportunity for the
country,” said the president of the Italian senate’s culture and sport
committee, Andrea Marcucci. “The decision is technical, it’s not about
the content of the amendment.
“I hope the government quickly finds a solution which responds to the prerequisites asked for by the organisers.
“I want to remind everyone that the tournament has a considerable
economic spin-off and television rights. The amendment in question
didn’t call for further public spending.”
Marco Simone Golf and Country Club was awarded the 2022 Ryder Cup in late 2015 after Italy saw off Germany, Spain and Austria in the exhaustive and comprehensive bid process.
The Italian bid was consistently strong across all the areas
evaluated and, in particular, in their pledge to undertake a complete
reconstruction of the golf course at Marco Simone to the highest
standards demanded by Ryder Cup Europe.
It also promised an improvement in its commitment to the Italian Open
in terms of guaranteeing a €7m prize fund for the championship for 11
years, beginning this year with it being part of the European Tour’s Rolex Series.
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