United States ready to embrace the hate from European fans at Ryder Cup | D'Angelo

ROME — Standing between the sixth and eighth holes at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club is a 1,000-year-old, 50-room castle topped by a large Italian flag and containing fossils dating back 300,000 years.

The course is named after the castle's 15th-century owner, Marco Simone. It once was the home of famed astronomer Galileo Galilei and today is the private residence of fashion designer Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna, who also runs the club that was built after her parents bought the castle in 1978, the year she was born.

Marco Simone, the castle, withstood hundreds of years of invasions before being restored by its namesake's father. Now, Marco Simone, the golf course, will be forced to defend itself from an invasion of another kind — this one from a group of American golfers bent on ending nearly 30 years of futility on European soil.

But cheering on their modern-day golf gladiators will be the majority of the 300,000 spectators expected to attend the event. Fans from all over the continent have been descending on the Eternal City hoping their heroes prevent the Americans from pulling off an "Italian job."

This will be an event in which both sides have something to prove: Captain Zach Johnson's U.S. group looking to end that drought and Luke Donald's Europe team trying to recover from an embarrassing defeat two years ago at Whistling Straits.

The United States needs just a 14-all tie to retain the cup.

"History is always important, we know that," said Donald, an England native who lives in Jupiter. "And, hopefully, the beginning of the history of the Roman Empire will be kind to European golf this week."

Certainly the rowdiest crowd in golf will be kind to Donald's team, which includes three of his South Florida neighbors — Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Matt Fitzpatrick — and players from eight different countries. This biennial event is unlike any other in this sport and starts with the fans singing and chanting on the first tee and does not let up.

While the U.S. is ready for the onslaught, the Europeans are planning to hop on the wave.

"They just play such a huge part in the moment," England's Tommy Fleetwood said. "The crowds are there to lift you at all times. You absolutely ride the momentum that they are creating: The cheers, the sound, the noise … that's amazing."

Donald called the fans his team's "13th man" at Thursday's opening ceremony.

The signature sounds of the Ryder Cup return after a relatively quiet 2021 event at Whistling Straits that was impacted by COVID. The U.S. had a distinct advantage with overseas travel still limited. The result was a historic U.S. blowout 19-9.

That will all change with the Europeans certain to exhort their fans to get loud.

"The beauty of a home crowd is they keep you on the front foot," said Englishman Justin Rose, playing in his sixth Ryder Cup. "They keep your head up. They keep you moving forward. Those are the advantages of playing at home. They do a lot of the heavy mental lifting for you from that point of view."

Said McIlroy: "Someone said to me once, if you want to be part of the circus, you have to put up with the clowns."

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Home turf has played a big part in Ryder Cup success in recent history. Since Europe's victory at Oak Hill in 1995, the home team is 10-2, the only exceptions being Europe victories at Oakland Hills in 2004 and Medinah in 2012.

The U.S. is attempting to snap an away losing streak that dates to 1993 when it defeated Europe 15-13 at The Belfry.

Justin Thomas was 21 weeks old the last time American golfers crossed the pond and won a Ryder Cup. Wyndham Clark had yet to be born.

Since then, Americans have lost six consecutive times in Europe.

US players trying to embrace the hate

U.S. players will welcome the zingers, being sure not to take it personally and use it as motivation. All professional athletes, in every sport, have been subject to some abuse during their careers. It's just that for golfers, it's limited because of the nature of the sport.

"To me, it's pretty cool to be able to play in front of that and I just try to embrace (it)," said Thomas, one of five Palm Beach County residents representing the U.S.

"They're going to give us a hard time," added Jupiter's Rickie Fowler. "You'll hear some one-liners, but it's part of it. We're on foreign soil. We're not the favorites."

Jordan Spieth will be forgiving, to a point, when it comes to fan engagement. He remembers being on that side as an ardent supporter of the Dallas Cowboys and the University of Texas, where he attended school before turning pro.

"I try not to take too much on the chin and recognize that when I go to a sporting event, I'm sometimes that guy," he said. "Everybody has people they align with and cheer for. In our individual sport, you get to go watch them. You don't have to watch people you don't like. In team sports, people play away games and you root against them.

"So this is just one of those times where we get that experience. If it fuels you, go ahead and hope people are saying stuff. But for me, it's just part of the game."

Fowler's solution for dealing with rowdy fans: Engage with them when you can, feed off the negativity and give them little to cheer about.

"The quietness," he said, "becomes our cheers."

Ryder Cup

Friday through Sunday

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Rome, Italy

TV: Friday, 1:30 a.m., USA

Saturday, 3 a.m., NBC

Sunday, 5:30 a.m., NBC

Captains: Zach Johnson (U.S.) and Luke Donald (Europe)

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: United States preparing for pro European crowd to get personal at Ryder Cup