Lando Norris shows off Ryder Cup skills in break from F1

Norris, McLaren, Imola, 2022 — Photo: © LAT Images

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Norris shows off Ryder Cup skills in break from F1

Ryder Cup fever has officially taken hold at McLaren

Cal Gaunt

Saturday 30 September 2023 15:57

McLaren team-mates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri make for a competitive duo on the race track – and they were equally competitive away from it as they took part in a Ryder Cup-themed challenge.

Team Europe have dominated the early Ryder Cup sessions in Rome and Norris, a keen golfer himself, got into the tournament spirit by taking on Piastri in a chipping contest.

A velcro mat laid out on the ground resembled a miniature golf course with numerical targets, with points scored for hitting fairways, while landing the ball in the hazards took points away from any total scored.

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Norris represented ‘Team Europe’, while Australian Piastri represented ‘Rest of the World’.

Sign him up, @RyderCupEurope. 🏌️#RyderCup @LandoNorris https://t.co/ImQlWBJWx7 pic.twitter.com/lucvvT5xKT
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) September 29, 2023

Ryder Cup fever grips McLaren

Both took some time to get to grips with the game, but soon Norris’ golfing prowess shone through.

By the third round, Norris was regularly hitting the highest targets, while Piastri struggled to get into positive digits after hitting some of his shots into the velcro ‘water’ hazards.

After Norris took a near-insurmountable lead, he offered his team-mate – who said he was now just ‘playing for pride’ – the chance to win by hitting one of three shots into the ‘100’ target. Piastri failed, and Norris won 715-240.

Awesome opening day of the @rydercup with @LandoNorris, @coreyapavin and Tom Kristensen. Looking forward to some more fun today ⛳ pic.twitter.com/R6EtTQ6l1J
— Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) September 30, 2023

Golf appears to be a serious hobby at McLaren, as CEO Zak Brown is in attendance at the Ryder Cup - of course cheering on the USA - alongside Norris.

Brown wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): “Awesome opening day of the Ryder Cup with Lando Norris, Corey Pavin and Tom Kristensen. Looking forward to some more fun today.”