The list of pandemic shake-ups is growing, and the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup are just another addition to that ever-expanding scroll. For the first time in 2023, professional golf’s most important team events will be played in back-to-back weeks.
The Ladies European Tour announced on Monday that the 2023 Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin, in the heart of Spain’s Costa del Sol, will take place Sept. 18-24. The Ryder Cup will be played the following week, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, at Italy’s Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.
It’s a shake-up, for sure, but officials have taken to looking at that fortnight of high-intensity team golf as a festival of sorts.
“Match play golf between Europe and the USA brings a totally unique perspective and atmosphere to our sport and it is tremendous for fans in Europe that our continent will play host to the Solheim Cup and the Ryder Cup in consecutive weeks in 2023,” said Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour.
Future Ryder Cup sites through 2037
“The fact it is also a first for both hosting nations – Spain and Italy – simply adds to the anticipation and if we can recreate the excitement generated at Le Golf National in 2018 and at Gleneagles in 2019, the whole world of golf will be in for a truly fabulous fortnight.”
The Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup are usually played in alternate years. The COVID-forced cancellation of this year’s Ryder Cup threw off the schedule. The Ryder Cup was moved from even years to odd years, resulting in the back-to-back scenario.
Future Ryder Cup sites through 2037
“The Solheim Cup is truly one of the most dramatic and interesting golf events on the global sporting calendar and it has the ability to transcend golf to new audiences and, if the 2023 edition is anything like 2019, fans will be left wanting more and they will be lucky enough go straight onto The Ryder Cup in Italy where the men’s version of Team Europe and Team USA will go head-to-head,” said Alexandra Armas, Ladies European Tour CEO.
The 2021 Solheim Cup will be played at Inverness in Toledo, Ohio, on Sept. 4-6. The Ryder Cup, originally scheduled for September 2020, was moved to Sept. 24-26, 2021. It will still be played at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wisconsin.