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The Best Photos of the Well-Dressed Couples (and Viktor Hovland) at Ryder Cup Gala

Here are all the highlights from the official Ryder Cup gala photos on Rome’s Spanish Steps.

Gabrielle Herzig

The Best Photos of the Well-Dressed Couples (and Viktor Hovland) at Ryder Cup Gala
The Best Photos of the Well-Dressed Couples (and Viktor Hovland) at Ryder Cup Gala /

Team USA and Team Europe cleaned up nicely on Wednesday evening in Rome for the Ryder Cup gala—a formal evening that marks the opening festivities of the biennial match-play event. 

Accompanied by their significant others (well, some of them), the 24 players and their captains posed for photos on the historic Spanish Steps. The monumental stairway, built in the 1720s, appeared to be closed to the public for their grand entrance. Fans watched as the Europeans and Americans arrived at the gala wearing decadent suits and ball gowns. 

The Europeans were all smiles as they strolled through the narrow streets of the City of Seven Hills, fist bumping onlookers along the way. 

Brooks Koepka and Jena Sims—the newest parents on Team USA—as well as Collin Morikawa and his wife Katherine Zhu carefully descended the picturesque steps. Meanwhile, Koepka debuted his new “Freedom Flow” mullet.

To social media’s delight, the honorary European singles Viktor Hovland and vice captain José Maria Olazabal found company in each other for the night. They linked arms and walked arms side-by-side with the rest of the coupled-up team (and fans couldn’t get enough of it.)

Alongside his wife Jillian, Justin Thomas immediately became the meme of the gala with this cheeky expression upon arrival. 

Lastly, the Europeans and the Americans posed for team photos against the scenic Roman backdrop—and the results were pretty amazing. 

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Gabrielle Herzig
GABRIELLE HERZIG

Gabrielle Herzig is a Breaking and Trending News writer for Sports Illustrated Golf. Previously, she worked as a Golf Digest Contributing Editor, an NBC Sports Digital Editorial Intern, and a Production Runner for FOX Sports at the site of the 2018 U.S. Open. Gabrielle graduated as a Politics Major from Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she was a four-year member and senior-year captain of the Pomona-Pitzer women’s golf team. In her junior year, Gabrielle studied abroad in Scotland for three months, where she explored the Home of Golf by joining the Edinburgh University Golf Club.

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