From pits to putts: Zak, Lando, and Tom take in the Ryder Cup

(l-R) Tom Kristensen, Zak Brown, Lando Norris, and Corey Pavin at the Ryder Cup in Rome - Saturday September 30.

There might not be a Grand Prix this weekend, but that's given Lando Norris and his boss, McLaren CEO Zak Brown the opportunity to head to Rome and watch some of the golf at the 2023 Ryder Cup.

It may have been a special reward for golf nut Norris, who finished last week's Japanese Grand Prix in second place with team mate Oscar Piastri joining him on the podium in a breakout weekend for McLaren.

The pair were joined on the course at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, by Le Mans sportscar legend Tom Kristensen and by professional golfer Corey Pavin, pictured above amid the crowds of spectators.

It's one of the few team events in professional golf, pitting a European team against a squad of players from the United States. The US had a big win last time, but so far Norris and Kristensen will be enjoying this year's event a lot more than Brown and Pavin.

Europe swept all four matches on Friday morning and led by a record-equalling margin of 6½ to 1½ at the end of the first day. Europe also had a strong Saturday morning to extend their lead over the US to 9½-2½.

A long way to go of course, but Norris, Brown and the rest will doubtless be glued to the rest of the action to see how it all turns out.

Norris will be keen to hit a few balls himself with some of his F1 peers before getting back int he cockpit next weekend in Qatar.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.