There is no doubt the Ryder Cup will be on the minds of a significant percentage of the field at this week’s Open Championship at Hoylake.
The final major of the year offers the chance for fringe players to rocket themselves up the automatic qualification list, or at the very least catch the eye of USA captain Zach Johnson or his European counterpart Luke Donald.
Both were in attendance at Hoylake on Wednesday, and admitted they had been out and about, having a look at the hopefuls.
“It’s been a really productive few days,” said Donald. “I’ve just been out on the course with some of the players, getting their mindset about their strategies for this week, and just to see where they are.
“But also to keep those communications, that chat going. Because after this week we get a bit more spread about. There’s not so many events on the DP World Tour over the next few weeks. Obviously the [FedEx] Playoffs in the US. So it’s a great opportunity to be around the players, keep those discussions, keep the communication up.”
What is the Ryder Cup?
One of the most-watched sporting events in the world, the Ryder Cup is distinctive for inserting athletes from an individual sport into a team environment. Aside from the golf, the team dynamics and relationships have made for compelling viewing.
Amateur golfer and businessman Samuel Ryder conceived the idea of a match between British and American professionals, with the inaugural Ryder Cup played in Massachusetts in 1927.
The match was played between an American and British or British and Irish team until 1977.
After nine USA victories and one tie in 10 meetings, Jack Nicklaus wrote a letter to Lord Derby (then president of the British PGA) suggesting Britain and Ireland merge with Continental Europe to make the Ryder Cup more competitive.
Ryder Cups became far more closely fought and dramatic by the mid-Eighties, and the extravaganza we know today was born.
When is it?
The Ryder Cup is always staged in late September or early October after the season’s major championships, and lasts for three days.
This year’s Ryder Cup starts on Friday, September 29 with the final day on Sunday, October 1.
Where is it?
The 44th Ryder Cup will be hosted by Italy for the first time in its history.
The venue is the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club just outside Rome, which has previously hosted the Italian Open.
Italian players to represent Europe with distinction include Costantino Rocca and the Molinari brothers, Francesco and Eduardo.
How can I watch on TV?
NBC are the broadcasters in America, where viewers will either have to stay up late or wake up very early to catch the morning sessions on Friday and Saturday. When the Ryder Cup was played in France five years ago, play began at 2.10am Eastern Time, with the afternoon sessions starting at a more civilised 7.50am Eastern Time.
No such worries for viewers in the UK, where there will be exclusive live TV coverage on Sky Sports. In 2018, the first matches went off at 7.10am BST.
Who are the Ryder Cup captains?
Europe will be led by Luke Donald, who replaced Henrik Stenson last year after the Swede was stripped of the title. USA captain is 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson.
Can LIV golfers play in the Ryder Cup?
By Tom Cary, Senior Sports Correspondent at Hoylake
The American selection is if anything even more interesting, because unlike Donald, Johnson can actually select from the LIV ranks.
Johnson’s messaging has changed subtly since May when he insisted LIV players were “not even on my radar” unless automatically qualified, which is why the sight of him practising with Koepka was particularly noteworthy.
Koepka, of course, is already certain to be in Rome courtesy of his results at the Masters and the PGA Championship.
But could Johnson be prepared to hand a captain’s pick to one of the other big beasts on the LIV Tour?
Phil Mickelson is the next best ranked US LIV player all the way down in 33rd in the rankings.
He, like Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, even ‘Captain America’ himself Patrick Reed, will need a big week here if they want to play in Rome.
So too Talor Gooch who, having won three LIV events, is actually the most in-form of all of them.
How can I buy tickets?
General admission tickets for the Ryder Cup are now sold out, but more premium tickets including hospitality packages are available via the official website.
A Vista Terrace ticket for the final practice day – featuring live entertainment, DJs, private bars and food stands – will set you back about £350.
A place in the ‘Captains Club’ for Thursday to Sunday inclusive cost around £5,800 per person.
What is the Ryder Cup format?
Most golf tournaments such as the Masters and Open Championship are strokeplay, where every shot counts and the player with the lowest score after 72 holes wins.
The Ryder Cup is matchplay, meaning players compete as individuals or pairs against their opponents rather than the course. The pair or player with the lowest score wins the hole. For example, if Europe records a four on the first hole and USA a five, Europe will go one-up. If the scores are reversed on the second, the match will go back to all-square and so forth.
The match is won when the advantage is bigger than the number of holes remaining. If it finishes all-square, the match is halved.
There are two teams of 12. On Friday, there are four fourballs matches in the morning and four foursomes matches in the afternoon. This is repeated on Saturday. It means four players from each team sit out each session, with the team captain selecting his pairs and deciding who to leave out. There can be different pairs for each format.
The only time all 24 players are on the course is Sunday’s ‘singles’ when they go head-to-head in 12 direct match-ups.
Winning a match earns your team a point, with a halved match worth half-a-point to each team.
Those proficient at maths will have realised there are 28 points on offer, so both teams are aiming for 14-and-a-half points to win the Ryder Cup. A 14-14 tie would see the holders retain the trophy (i.e. the USA on this occasion)
What is the Ryder Cup schedule?
Tuesday September 27-Thursday 28: Practice days with opening ceremony on Thursday evening.
Friday September 29: Four fourballs matches in morning, four foursomes matches in afternoon.
Saturday September 30: Four fourballs matches in morning, four foursomes matches in afternoon.
Sunday October 1: 12 singles matches before closing ceremony.
What is the difference between fourballs and foursomes?
Fourballs
Two European players against two Americans. All four players play the course as normal with their own ball. The pair who record the lowest score on a hole (individual score, not aggregate) win the hole. So if three players par the first hole, but a European birdies, then Europe go one-up.
This effectively means two bites of the cherry at every hole, so captains favour picking aggressive players in this format. Even if they are slightly erratic, there is the insurance of a second ball in play. That’s the theory at least.
Foursomes
Two European players against two Americans. However, in this format each pair has just one ball in play with shots taken alternately. It is a much quicker format but a far harder discipline. One bad shot can cost you a hole, in contrast to fourballs when you have your partner’s ball to rely on.
For this reason, captains tend to favour their most consistent and accurate ball-strikers who can keep the ball in play. Par tends to be a good score in foursomes, while fourballs is all about making birdies.
Singles
One European against one American in direct matchplay.
How are players selected and what are the current standings?
Both teams have tinkered with the qualification process over the years in search of the optimal balance between rewarding strong current form, recognising consistent performances and giving the captain some autonomy.
Europe
In this cycle, just six European players will qualify automatically with captain Donald allowed to hand-pick his remaining six. To decide the automatic qualifiers, the three leading players in the European Points List will be joined by the top three from the World Points List who are not already qualified.
As things stand, that means the following players would be on the team.
From the European Points List: Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Robert Macintyre
From the World Points List: Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton.
This could change though, with qualification open until September 3.
USA
The ‘six plus six’ method for selecting the team is an attempt to emulate that which the Americans deployed so successfully at Whistling Straits, and unsurprisingly they are sticking with that model.
As things stand, the six players qualifying for Johnson’s team are: Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Max Homa.
Koepka moved up the leaderboard by winning the US PGA. Cameron Young and Sam Burns are hot on the heels of the top six.
Johnson will pick the remaining six in September.
What are the odds?
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USA 4/7
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Europe 2/1
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Draw 12/1
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