Ryder Cup: Team USA set for big share of support in Rome

Zach Johnson’s US side will be backed by strong travelling support in their bid to win on European soil for the first time in 30 years.

Not since 1993 have Team USA won an away Ryder Cup match, but this year at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of Rome they have a fine chance to end the hoodoo.

The contrast between the US record at home and on the road couldn’t be more stark. They have won four of their last six matches at home, yet have lost their last six in Europe.

Among other things, that points to American players struggling to perform in the most fierce sporting battlegrounds with fervent European home support.

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But this year at Marco Simone will no doubt have similarly raucous home crowds, Johnson’s players will be cheered on by huge numbers of partisan American fans in Italy.

That’s according to data from the world’s leading ticket marketplace, Viagogo, with the numbers revealing that American buyers represent 64% of all ticket sales on their website for the Ryder Cup.

The number of US fans buying tickets for the Ryder Cup on the platform has increased a whopping 39% on the last time they were on European soil, the convincing defeat to Thomas Bjorn’s side in Paris in 2018.

“The substantial increase in US-based purchases on our platform, compared to 2018, suggests a confidence among American golf fans and speaks to the growing trend of sports fans willing to travel internationally to support their teams,” Cris Miller, Viagogo’s managing director, said.

“With tickets sold in more than 45 countries and a considerable increase in total ticket sales, interest in the Ryder Cup is clearly reaching a growing global audience.”

Meanwhile, 33% of fans purchasing tickets were European, with the other 3% bought by fans outside the content with sales as far and wide as Brazil, China and Vietnam.

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The Ryder Cup has become a sporting behemoth in recent years and there is huge anticipation for this latest transatlantic battle, which almost looks impossible to call.

And expect the American cheers to grow louder and louder if Johnson’s side get on a roll and silence the home crowd.

While the European fans will hope to drown out their rivals in what will be a cauldron-like atmosphere, the strong away support will no doubt boost the American players as they look to create history in this year’s showdown.