The USA’s dominant win at Hazeltine two years ago, featuring a historic match between Captain America (Patrick Reed) and Europe’s Rory McIlroy, encapsulated what the Ryder Cup is all about. This year the Americans travel across the pond to face a European team who has improved dramatically.
What: THE RYDER CUP, where fans cheer for a missed putt and drink a little too much than they are supposed to. The Ryder Cup, created by Samuel Ryder in 1932, takes place every two years and features the 12 best from the US and Europe. This year, under the helm of American captain Jim Furyk and European captain Thomas Bjorn, more than just bragging rights, but pride, will be at stake.
Where: This year’s cup will be played in the ‘City of Love,” Paris, France. The course is Le Golf National, posing an advantage to the Europeans from the get go. Team members Tommy Fleetwood and Alex Noren have both won tournaments on this golf course, the French Open in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Along with that, changes to the golf course have been made since 2015, making fairways more narrow and changing the last four holes which makes them crucial coming down the stretch in match play. This home field advantage has proven beneficial as the American’s haven’t won on European soil for 25 years.
When: September 28th – September 30th: Coverage Friday and Saturday will start at 1 am CT with a rerun (for those who don’t wake up) starting at 7 pm CT. The Sunday singles matches will start at a much more manageable 5 am CT. It may be annoying for these crazy times, then again, it only happens every other year. With Tiger playing like he was in his prime and the young guns of the US challenging a hungry European team led by Justin Rose and Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter, it should be a dogfight from start to finish.
Prediction: Although the US has struggled overseas, Captain Jim Furyk has gotten his players in the right mindset, and with a team whose average world rank is 11 (the best ever), I expect the Americans to win the first crucial match, featuring birdie machines Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau against Fedex Cup Champ Justin Rose and the emotional Spaniard Jon Rahm. This first point will be a statement, one that will last until the US closes out a 16.5 to 11.5 victory.
