(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 25 - Sports Minister Andrea Abodi told ANSA in an interview Monday that Italy should enjoy its first Ryder Cup in Rome next weekend, saying that the world "envies us because of it".
    He said "it's a global event, let's make sure that it lends impetus to Italian golf".
    Abodi said of the event running from September 29 to October 1 at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club at Guidonia Montecelio just northeast of the Italian capital: "The Ryder Cup in Italy, in Rome, is a fantastic event which the world is jealous about, but not everyone has been able to grasp its scope.
    "This appointment, unique of its kind, can and must serve to give golf the boost that it deserves, because it is a sport that still has extraordinary margins of improvement in our country".
    Italy features prominently in Team Europe with the Molinary brothers among the non-playing vice captains of captain Luke Donald.
    Team USA is aiming to keep the trophy they won in a 19-9 rout at Whistling Straits two years ago.
    Europe won the last edition on home soil, in Paris in 2019, when Francesco Molinari became the first player to bag six points from six games.
    The event is sold out and hotel in the Eternal City are fully booked for Sep 30-Oct 1. (ANSA).