Around 150,000 fans will descend on the spectacular course over the next three days -- the majority of them roaring on Europe in what their captain Luke Donald hopes will be "the loudest Ryder Cup" ever. At the ceremony in the fan zone, cheers erupted as Europe's players were introduced by former world number one and four-time Ryder Cup player Donald -- the loudest reserved for England's Tommy Fleetwood and talisman Rory McIlroy. The lure of the Eternal City and the magic of the Ryder Cup means there will be plenty of stars and stripes mixed in with the yellow and blue of Europe over the next three days, with hundreds having made the trip across the pond. "You are the heartbeat of this event, you are our 13th man, let's make this the loudest Ryder Cup ever," Donald, who began his speech in Italian, said as he signed off. The opening game features Spain's Jon Rahm and England's Tyrrell Hatton against world number one Scottie Scheffler and rookie Sam Burns, followed by Scandinavian duo Viktor Hovland and newcomer Ludvig Aberg versus Open winner Brian Harman and world number seven Max Homa, both also rookies.

---

Persons: Ryder, Marco Simone Golf, Frecce Tricolori, Yara, Zach Johnson's, Marco Simone, Luke Donald, Donald, Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, LIV, Brooks, Johnson, Carly Paoli, Tom Grennan, Spain's Jon Rahm, England's Tyrrell Hatton, Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Brian Harman, Max Homa, McIlroy, Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Martyn Herman, Toby Davis Organizations: Country Club, Italian Air Force, Ryder, Rights, 44th Ryder, U.S, Marco Simone Country Club, Italy's, Eternal, decibel, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, Whistling Straits, Europe, Saudi Arabia, 0535GMT, Scandinavian, St Peter's