Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, the no. 2 and no. 3 ranked players in the world, respectively, are the first players to be officially named to the European squad for the 2023 Ryder Cup.

The 44th Ryder Cup will be played from Sept. 29 – Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome.

At his press conference ahead of the FedEx Cup St. Jude Invitational, McIlroy ran through his busy schedule leading up to the competition in Italy.

“Yeah so I've got the next three weeks (of the FedEx Cup playoffs), then I have the Irish Open, then I'll play Wentworth. I've got a buddy's bachelor's party in Mykonos after Wentworth for a few days. And then I have a few days to dry out before the Ryder Cup…I've got a big six out of eight (week) run culminating with the Ryder Cup where I'm hoping to play a lot of golf. I think those two off weeks are going to be important to conserve energy and to really manage my time well and doing the right things so I'm ready to go when I need to.”

The 34-year-old from Northern Ireland has appeared in the last six Ryder Cups. Spain's Rahm, 28, will be making his third consecutive roster. McIlroy has 12 wins and four halves in 24 career Ryder Cup matches — totaling 14 points. Rahm has contributed 4.5 career points.

McIlroy currently sits atop the European Team Rankings. He leads Rahm by about 600 points. The top six in the standings automatically qualify. Europe captain Luke Donald will choose the other six participants.

The United States rolled to a 19-9 victory in 2021 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

Longtime Ryder Cup staples Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter will likely not be included on the 2023 roster due to their defections to LIV Golf.