Who Is Hosting The Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony? - Meet Melissa Satta

Italian TV personality Melissa Satta will host the Opening Ceremony of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome on Thursday September 28.

Satta, who will front the traditional curtain raiser for the showpiece event between Europe and the United States, is a presenter on Sky Sport Italy.

When The Ryder Cup was last held in Europe, in Paris in 2018, French International footballer David Ginola performed the role.

Satta, who has previously worked for MTV Italy, can’t wait for the action to get underway.

“I think it is going to be amazing to host the Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony. When I had the call, I couldn’t believe it was actually going to be me,” she said.

“To have people from all over Europe and America coming to Rome is going to be very special, all there having fun enjoying sport 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, who has both Italian and American citizenship, is a former professional in both karate and football and is a guest presenter on Sky Sport Italy’s football show Calcio Club and host of Goal Deejay, which combines music and football. 

The 37-year-old fashion model, who is also a host of talent show Missione Beauty on Italian channel Rai 2, has 4.8 million followers on Instagram and 1.4 million on X (formerly Twitter), and her involvement in golf’s greatest event could help the sport to reach a new audience.

The hour-long Opening Ceremony will take place at 1600 CET on the Fan Village Stage at Marco Simone and will also include live music, before the players take to the stage to be formally introduced by their respective captains.

The ceremony concludes with the unveiling of the pairings for the opening session of play, the Friday Morning Foursomes, which get underway at 07.35 CET the following day.