Melissa Satta announced as the 2023 Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony host: All you need to know

Italian TV personality Melissa Satta has been announced as the presenter for the opening ceremony of the 44th Ryder Cup, scheduled to take place on Thursday, September 28, at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy.

The curtain-raiser event of the biennial competition between Europe and the US will commence on Thursday, September 28, at 10 am ET on the Fan Village Stage at Marco Simone. The hour-long ceremony will feature live music and a formal introduction of the players by their respective captains.

The ceremony will conclude with the announcement of the pairings for the first session of play, the Friday Morning Foursomes, set to begin on Friday, August 29, at 1:30 pm ET.

Satta holds passports from both Italy and the United States and currently serves as a presenter at Sky Sports Italy. Formerly a professional in karate and football, Satta hosts the shows Calcio Club and Goal Deejay on Sky Sports Italy. She has also previously worked for MTV Italy.

Expressing her excitement after being given the opportunity, the 37-year-old fashion model stated that she is thrilled to host the opening ceremony of the Ryder Cup, considering it to be an amazing experience. She was quoted as saying via Golf Monthly:

"When I had the call, I couldn’t believe it was actually going to be me. To have people from all over Europe and America come to Rome is going to be very special; all there will have fun and enjoy sports together.

"Rome is one of the best cities in the world, so everyone is going to enjoy the best food, the best culture, and the best weather in September. I think it is going to be unbelievable."

Satta also hosts Missione Beauty, a talent show on the Italian channel Rai 2. She has a following of more than 4.8 million on Instagram and 1.4 million on Twitter.

During the last edition of The Ryder Cup held in Europe, which took place in Paris in 2018, French international footballer David Ginola hosted the opening ceremony.

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Which players qualified for the 2023 Ryder Cup?

The teams have started shaping up, as the 2023 Ryder Cup is just a month away. The US Ryder Team squad's automatic selection was finalized on Sunday, August 20, with the conclusion of the 2023 BMW Championship.

Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele, Brian Harman, Max Homa, and Patrick Cantlay are the first six names to seal the spot for the Rome event. While Scheffler, Schauffele, and Cantaly have played in the biennial event in the past, the rest of the three will make their debut this year.

As for Team Europe, while Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Viktor Hovland are certain to make their place via the European Points List, the other three automatic spots will be filled after the conclusion of the DP World Tour's Omega European Masters on September 3.

While the Team US captain, Zach Johnson, will announce the rest of the six names of the squad on August 29, Team Europe's skipper, Luke Donald, will reveal the names on September 4.