Italy will host the Ryder Cup for the first time when the biennial event heads to Rome's Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in 2022.

It will be only the third time the event has been staged in continental Europe, following Valderrama in Spain in 1997 and Le Golf National in France which gets the event in 2018.

Four nations -- Italy, Austria, Germany, and Spain -- had been in the final running after Denmark, Portugal and Turkey withdrew their interest in the early stages.

"I would like to offer my congratulations to Italy whose bold and ambitious bid has seen them become the host nation for the 2022 Ryder Cup," said Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour -- the managing partner of Ryder Cup Europe.

"History has shown time and again that the Ryder Cup is pure theatre with the players the stars, and there is no question that the Eternal City of Rome will provide a wonderful backdrop for one of the great occasions in world golf.

"With Paris in 2018 and now Rome in 2022 being the respective host cities for Europe's next two stagings of the biennial contest against the United States, the magical appeal of the Ryder Cup is set to continue.

"In addition, we have exciting plans for the development of the European Tour and our International Schedule for the benefit of all our players, and Italy shares this ambition. Their commitment to the Italian Open will provide an inspiring benchmark."

Europe's Ryder Cup director Richard Hills, a member of the evaluation committee, said it was a tough decision but Rome just edged their rivals.

"The Italian bid was consistently strong and impressive across the board in terms of infrastructure, commercial structure and government support," he said.

"It was a worthy gold medallist in this particular contest, although there were three impressive silver medallists too in Austria, Germany and Spain, who conducted themselves in a professional manner throughout the process.

"The plans outlined for the golf course at Marco Simone are spectacular alongside the commitment to develop all levels of golf in Italy, and we look forward very much to working with the Italian 2022 Ryder Cup team over the coming years."