A fire raged on Thursday at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy, where the European side recently won the 44th Ryder Cup in a 16.5-11.5 win over the American dozen in the biennial competition.
Footage uploaded to X (formerly Twitter) by Conor Nolan shows a large fire emanating from the partner grandstand on the first hole of the Ryder Cup setup, directly adjacent to the grandstands for fans on three sides of the first tee of the host course. In the video footage, smoke is shown pluming into the air and being blown by the wind down the first hole and throughout the property.
Insane footage from Marco Simone today, hopefully no injuries/ casualties #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/f1z333I9Q5
— Conor Nolan (@ConorN11) October 5, 2023
In the footage, golfers are seen playing the 18th hole of the host course as the fire continues burning.
The partner grandstand was a multi-level chalet created for Ryder Cup partners to spectate, socialize, eat and drink while the three-day event unfolded. The grandstand is constructed with a mixture of metal, wood and plastic-based tenting. The plastic service is likely highly flammable, although it's unclear if there were other highly flammable materials that were being stored inside the grandstand, such as a propane tank or other fuel that might have been used in food service.
Italy's first time hosting the Ryder Cup should be deemed a huge success. Marco Simone was largely lauded as a reputable host club and a good venue for match play. Ryder Cup Europe offered a great mixture of seating options, entertainment, food-and-beverage choices and other facilities. The Rome subway system was a strong option for fans based in the Eternal City to navigate from the city center to bussing options available at multiple pick-up points.
Ultimately, this enormous setup at Marco Simone would be deconstructed over a period of weeks, if not months, and the club would return to normal function by December. However, this fire, the subsequent damage and potential investigation into its cause may lead to a longer delay.
