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Ryder Cup: All you need to know

The Ryder Cup returns in 2023 and Team US will be bidding to retain the title they won in 2021 when comfortably defeating the European Team at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin.

The Ryder Cup 2023 Odds

The USA will go into 2023’s tournament as the slim favourites at 10/11 ahead of the European team, which are given odds of 6/5 to triumph. It is 12/1 that the competition ends in a tie.

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2023 Ryder Cup teams

European Team

  • Captain – Luke Donald
  • Rory McIlroy
  • Viktor Hovland
  • Jon Rahm
  • Tyrrell Hatton
  • Matt Fitzpatrick
  • Bob McIntyre
  • Tommy Fleetwood
  • Justin Rose
  • Ludvig Aberg
  • Nicolai Hojgaard
  • Shane Lowry
  • Sepp Straka

USA Team

  • Captain – Zach Johnson
  • Scottie Scheffler
  • Patrick Cantlay
  • Xander Schauffele
  • Max Homa
  • Brian Harman
  • Wyndham Clark
  • Jordan Spieth
  • Brooks Koepka
  • Collin Morikawa
  • Sam Burns
  • Justin Thomas
  • Rickie Fowler

What is the Ryder Cup?

The Ryder Cup was first played in 1927 when a United States team defeated Great Britain over two days of play. Since 1979, the competition has been played every two years between teams of golfers from Europe and the United States. Each Ryder Cup is held at a different venue, alternating between Europe and the United States.

Teams of 12 players are chosen by ranking, with the U.S. team being made up of the top six eligible players in the points rankings as well as six captain’s picks. The top three players on the European Points list earn spots on the European team, as do the top three players on the World Points list who did not already earn a spot on the European list, joined by six captain’s picks.

The Ryder Cup is considered one of the most important golf competitions as it is one of the few tournaments that pits nations against each other. In The Ryder Cup’s case, it is the two biggest golf-playing continents: Europe and the United States.

The action takes place over three days. On the first two days, players compete in four-balls; two players from each team, each playing their own ball and taking the best score, and foursome; two players from each team playing one ball with alternating strokes. On the final day, 12 singles matches are played to determine the winner.

Any player can be picked to play in a maximum of five matches over the three days. Each winning four-ball or foursome partnership and each individual win after 18 holes scores a point for their team. A tied game earns each team half a point.

Greatest Ryder Cup Comebacks Of All Time

How does The Ryder Cup work?

Four-ball Format

The four-ball format consists of two teams of two players each playing their own ball. The winner of each hole is determined by lowest individual score. If it is a tie, the hole is halved.

Foursomes Format

The foursomes format is slightly different in that only two balls are in play with players alternating shots until each hole has been completed.

There is an alternation for tee shots, with one player teeing off on odd-numbered holes and the other teeing off on even-numbered holes. The team that achieves the lowest score on each hole is the winner of that hole.

Singles Format

Singles features one player from each team taking on an opposing team member, with the player achieving the lowest score on each hole winning the hole with each match won worth one point. If there is a tie, the hole is halved, and the match is worth half a point for both teams.

How are the Ryder Cup pairings determined?

On the evening before the matches are set to take place, the opposing captains meet and decide the pairings for the first session of matches. The home captain chooses which order the matches will be played.

Each captain chooses the pairs based on the form and chemistry between players and who he thinks will play the best at that given moment. On Sunday, the two captains submit their choices for the pairings and singles without knowing who their opposition will be.

Greatest Ryder Cup Moments

Ryder Cup team composition

Captains

Historically captains are the ones that take the blame and the plaudits for their team’s victory or failure and have the opportunity to become icons or villains.

They are the ones who make the critical choices; players to include in the side, pairings and the order of play. They can also be vital in determining the overall morale and relations in the team. If these fail to materialise positively, it can spell disaster for that year’s campaign and their reputation for years to come.

Player

The United States criteria sees all US players given the opportunity to earn points throughout 2022 by competing in and winning majors and events on the PGA and European Tour before the deadline, which concluded on August 20th 2023. The six players with the most points at the deadline are eligible and offered spots on the US team.

Six remaining spots are given to captains’ selections which were chosen by Zach Johnson.

The top three players on the European Points list earn spots on the team, as do the top three players on the World Points list who did not already earn a spot on the European list. The remaining six spots were chosen by captain Luke Donald.

Ryder Cup Scoring system

The Ryder Cup is scored on a points system with the tournament’s winning team, either the US or Europe, determined by which side accumulates the most points after all matches have been played.

There are different types of matches played over the tournament; four-ball, foursomes, and singles, with each of the 28 total matches played worth one point each. A tied match accredits each team half a point. The winner is the first side to reach 14½ points.

If both teams reach 14 points, the current holder of the Ryder Cup (U.S. as of 2021) will retain the Ryder Cup.

Next Ryder Cup venue and schedule

2023’s Ryder Cup will be played in Rome, Italy, at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club from Friday the 29th of September to Sunday the 1st of October.

Ryder Cup History

The Ryder Cup was first hosted at the Worcester Country Club, Massachusetts, in 1927 and was created to bring the U.S. and Great Britain, two of the world’s biggest golf-playing nations at the time, together in competition.

It was named after Englishman Samuel Ryder, who donated the trophy for the inaugural event in 1927. It has been played every two years since, with only the Second World War interrupting its long-standing continuance.

Originally a contest between the U.S. and Great Britain & Ireland, the Ryder Cup rules were transformed in 1979 to allow continental Europe to join forces with Great Britain after the dominance of the U.S., winning the trophy 18 times out of the first 22 occasions.

Since the addition of the mainland European golfers in 1979, team Europe has won 11 times outright and once retained the trophy in a tied match, with the US team only winning nine times over the same period.

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