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Ryder Cup stars and their guests tucked into a four-course gourmet meal as they celebrated with a gala dinner on the eve of the storied tournament.
In keeping with the tournament’s location – Rome’s Marco Simone Golf & Country Club – those who held the exclusive evening tucked into Italian fare just days before Teams USA and Europe tee off at the biennial competition.
The long-held tradition is a black tie event, and dressed in their finery, both teams paused competitive hostilities to enjoy the lavish meal.
Jena Sims, who is married to Team USA star and LIV rebel Brooks Kopeka, provided her followers on social media with sneaked insight into the festivities, including a snapshot of the event’s menu.
The attendees began their evening with a ‘fake tomato’ made of smoked pappa al pomodoro – an Italian bread soup – served with buffalo stacciatella, ground black olives, and charcoal, before tucking into a traditional pasta course, or primi piatti of risotto with lemon, razor clams, asparagus, and buffalo milk yoghurt.
Attendees at the Ryder Cup 2023 traditional gala dinner were treated to a four-course feast
The menu included an antipasti of ‘fake tomato’ and a pasta course of clam and lemon risotto
Jena Sims, who is married to Team USA’s Brooks Kopeka (left) documented the evening
Guests then enjoyed soy marinated tender beef with a traditional pizzaiola sauce made of tomato, olive oil, garlic and oregano and oregano and parsley root puree.
Moving out of the cavernous glass-roofed dining room for desert, the meal finished with a Neopolitan baba al rhum, gelato, cannoli, and arragostine pastries served on the terrace.
Tournament luminaries such as Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Colin Morikawa may have washed the meal down with wines including £54-a-bottle Pian delle Vigne Brunello di Montalcino 2018 red, a glass of Conte della Vipera 2022 white wine which retails at £26 a bottle, or a ‘A’ Rosato 2022.
Diane Donald, whose husband Luke Donald captains Team Europe, shared snaps as she mingled with fellow partners including Matt Fitzpatrick’s girlfriend Katherine Gaal, Keeley Rahm, the wife of Team USA captain Zach Johnson, Kim Barclay.
The event was hosted on a rooftop in the Italian capital, with desert served on the terrace
Diane Donald, wife of Team Europe captain Luke, enjoyed the Ryder Cup-branded gelato
Luke and Diane Donald led members of Team Europe down Rome’s iconic Spanish Steps
The Roman landmark is thought to have been closed for the event on Wednesday evening
Golfers including Rory McIlroy (centre) were met by fans lining their way to the gala dinner
Earlier in the day, WAGs from Team USA enjoyed a day out in the Italian capital, with Sims leading the charge as she shared pictures via Instagram.
The first photo in the post shared by Sims showed the 34-year-old, who married Koepka last year, enjoying the sun in an orange flowery dress.
She went onto post photos of various buildings in the city as well as videos of her friends and fellow WAGs enjoying the streets of Rome.
Another photo showed a few of the women wearing helmets in the back of a carriage as they were chauffeured around the towns.
Thursday will see the tournament’s opening ceremony kick-off the weekend’s competition at 3pm, with captains Donald and Johnson due to announce pairings later in the afternoon.
34-year-old Sims posed in the Roman sun on Tuesday ahead of the tournament weekend
Some of the women were chauffeured around the towns in the back of a carriage on the day
Focus now shifts to Thursday’s practice session and the tournament’s opening ceremony
Viktor Hovland (centre) had a session to remember after landing an exquisite hole-in-one
Team Europe will look to win on home soil but face a significant threat from the American titleholders
In the day’s final practice, Team Europe’s Vikto Hovland astounded fans by landing a stunning hole-in-one on 376-yard par four.
The Norwegian was in good spirits ahead of the competition and delighted by the achievement, but joked that he had achieved the feat on the ‘wrong day’.
Despite playing on Europe’s patch, Team USA are the slender favourites to retain the title, and swipe victory away from home soil for the first time since 1993.
Mail Sport reported on Wednesday that USA fans in their legions were set to descend on the Eternal City to roar on their side in a bid to drown out raucous European support.
