The 2023 Ryder Cup teams have yet to be finalized, but the vice captains are set. On Wednesday, Europe added Francesco Molinari as vice captain to a group that already included his brother Edoardo Molinari, Thomas Bjorn, Nicolas Colsaerts and Jose Maria Olazabal. They will be led by captain Luke Donald.
“I chose Francesco because he has a lot of experience in Ryder Cups and he is a major winner,” said Donald. “He has a tremendous individual career, but he is also Italian. I wanted him there no matter what, whether it was playing or as a vice captain. With his brother there too, I think it is going to be pretty special, having both Edoardo and Francesco on my team representing team Europe but also representing Italy.
“Francesco is a hero in Italy. He has so much respect from the Italians for what he has done for the game of golf. Certainly that respect is also there from me too and I couldn’t be happier to round out my vice captains with him.”
The Ryder Cup is being played in Rome for the first time this year.
“I am very proud to be part of Luke’s team,” said Molinari. “I started the year hoping to be there as a player, but it is still a great honor to be there as a vice captain. … The coolest moment I have had in the Ryder Cup was making my debut alongside Edoardo in Wales and experiencing for the first time what it meant to be part of the European team. It is super special to be there with him again in Rome.
“It is a proud moment any time you get to put on the shirt with the European badge on it. It’s a Ryder Cup which is particularly close to my heart being played in Rome so I will do whatever I can to help Luke and the team and hopefully bring the trophy back to Europe.”
Molinari contended in the 2010, 2012 and 2018 Ryder Cups and put together a 5-4-2 record overall in those three competitions, all victories for the European side.
While neither Molinari has served in a captain role yet, both Bjorn and Olazabal have been winning captains on the European side. For the Americans, a lot of the usual suspects have been named vice captain to try and help Zach Johnson to the United States’ first win in Europe since 1993.
In addition to Johnson as captain, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Fred Couples and Stewart Cink will be in the U.S. team room as vice captains. Love III, Furyk, Stricker and Couples have been staples, but Cink is relatively new to the vice captain part of things, taking what has in the past been either the Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson role.
“Competing in the Ryder Cup has been one of the highlights of my entire career and I’m ready to do whatever it takes to help Zach and the U.S. Team retain the Ryder Cup,” said Cink. “I’m honored that Zach would entrust me to play a role in helping make that a reality in Italy.”
The teams have begun to take shape, and for the U.S., the roster will be at least half set after this week’s BMW Championship. The top six in the standings at that time will officially qualify for the three-day event in Rome. The other six will be announced a week later. The European qualification extends a bit after that. Both teams are beginning to form, though, from a player and leadership side, and Molinari and Cink are a few of the last pieces of that puzzle ahead of September’s event.