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Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium will serve as the third vice captain for the European team in the 2023 Ryder Cup.

Captain Luke Donald made Colsaerts’ appointment official on Tuesday.

“Nico has been on my mind for a couple of months now to be honest,” Donald said in a news release. “I played in the team with him in 2012 and you could just see how much it meant to him. He understands what it means to represent the European crest and what it means to be part of the Ryder Cup set-up. When I asked him, he literally had goosebumps – so I am very happy to have him as my third Vice Captain.”

Colsaerts joins Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, who captained the winning European team in 2018, and Edoardo Molinari of Italy as vice captains. The 2023 Ryder Cup will be played Sept. 26-Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome.

Colsaerts, 40, was part of Europe’s winning team in 2012 and has won three times on the DP World Tour.

“My first reaction when Luke asked me was sheer joy. Every time I hear the words ‘Ryder Cup,’ it takes me back to the edition I played in, how proud I was to wear the European colors and be part of such an unbelievable event,” he said. “Being a Vice Captain is a different role to being a player but, nevertheless, my mission in 2023 will be exactly the same as it was in 2012, namely, to make a contribution to the team in any way I can.”

Donald was part of four winning Ryder Cup teams as a player, and he was named captain on Aug. 1. He replaced Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who was removed from the role when he joined the LIV Golf Series.

Zach Johnson is captain of the U.S. team, which will defend the Ryder Cup it won 19-9 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in 2021.

–Field Level Media