Hospitality stand up in flames at Ryder Cup course Marco Simone
Structure at 2023 Ryder Cup venue Marco Simone goes up in flames on Thursday afternoon.
A hospitality stand at 2023 Ryder Cup course Marco Simone in Rome, Italy, went up in huge flames on Thursday afternoon.
According to reports on the ground, a three-storey hospitality stand caught fire just after 5pm local time, producing dark smoke clouds that could be seen from miles away.
Five teams of firefighters rushed to the scene to bring it under control.
Thankfully no injuries have been reported.
The 2023 Ryder Cup concluded just four days ago on Sunday afternoon.
A full investigation is now underway as to how the fire happened.
More than 250,000 spectators turned up at the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone.
A statement from Ryder Cup Europe reads:
Related: Sky Sports Golf announces Ryder Cup record as NBC viewers slump badly
Luke Donald's Team Europe defeated Zach Johnson's United States side 16.5-11.5 as the visitors' horror record away from home continued.
The last time they won a Ryder Cup on European soil was way back at The Belfry, England, in 1993.
Europe's dominant victory over the USA at the 2023 Ryder Cup was watched by 3.7m viewers over the weekend on Sky Sports, making it the most-watched edition in the broadcaster's history.
It wasn't all good news for the television companies, though, as US-based broadcaster NBC noticed a significant drop in viewers from 2018.
Across the three days, Sky Sports averaged 785k viewers per day, which was a 38% increase on 2021 and a 25% increase on 2018. The historic event also saw a noticeable uptick in younger fans watching, with 14% more under 35s tuning in than in 2021.
While Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland were putting on a show for Team Europe, it appears American fans weren't quite as impressed with what they saw from their stars, including Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka.
Viewing was significantly down across networks in the US, with NBC reporting Sunday viewing figures of 1.3m, a huge drop off from the 2.4m that watched the final day of the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris from home.
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