While the four majors and a select few other events rightfully tend to get a great deal of attention put onto them, it’s hard to find a more anticipated event than the Ryder Cup.
There are some key reasons for this.
One, it’s only played every other year. Two, it’s probably the most unique event in golf. Even the final holes of close majors rarely match the intensity of the Ryder Cup. Part of that is because, while the sport being played is still golf, its format is unlike nearly any other event in the sport. Part of it is because the format differences make the Ryder Cup resemble a team sporting event as much as it does the Masters or another important regular event.
At a regular tour event, galleries certainly have their favorite players and will cheer louder for them. But rarely will a bad shot from one of the other players draw cheers. At the Ryder Cup, it’s a different story.
The Ryder Cup always attracts casual fans of golf. That’s probably going to be more true this year, with the ongoing LIV Golf storyline. And if you’re a casual fan, the difference in format and terminology may be a little confusing.
So here we’re going to answer some of the questions that casual and new fans may have. And we’ll also look ahead at the 2023 event and of course, make a prediction.
Particulars
When: Friday, Sept. 29 – Sunday, Oct. 1
Host Course: Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome in Guidonia Montecelio, Italy.
How to Watch (all times ET):
- Friday: 1:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. (USA Network)
- Saturday: 1:30 a.m. – 3 a.m. (USA Network), 3 a.m. – 6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
- Sunday: 5:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
FAQs
1. What is the Ryder Cup?
It’s a three-day biennial competition pitting the best European Golfers in the world against the best American golfers in the world. Each team has 12 players and a captain. While the captain can be a player in the event, it’s rare and not happening for either team this year.
There are five different sessions of three different match-play formats spread out over the three days (two on Friday, two on Saturday, one on Sunday). In total, there are 28 matches. Each match is worth a point, while a tied (or halved) match results in one-half point for each side.
The first side to accrue 14.5 points wins. In the event of a 14-14 draw, the defending champion (in this case, the American team), will retain the Ryder Cup.
2. What are the three formats?
Foursomes, Fourball, and singles.
Foursomes and Fourball are both 2-on-2 competitions. Friday and Saturday will both feature one session of each, with four matches being contested per session. Singles are played on Sunday, with all 12 players from both teams in action.
While similar events, like the Presidents Cup, do give the captains a chance to match up, as each session’s lineup is announced in a snake format, the Ryder Cup does not. American captain Zach Johnson and European captain Luke Donald will fill out their lineups for all five sessions unaware of what the other is doing with his lineup.
- Foursomes (FKA, alternate shot)
A player will tee off, his partner will hit the second shot and the two will continue to alternate until the hole is finished.
The only somewhat tricky element to it is that the alternate shot element only runs through the hole. So, the person who made the putt on one hole may be teeing off on the next.
Whichever player tees off on the first hole will tee off on all of the odd-numbered holes while the person who tees off on the second hole will tee off on the even-numbered holes.
- Fourball (FKA, better/best ball)
Both players on a team play their ball through each hole. The only scores that matter are the best scores from each team on every hole. So, if Player A on Team Europe makes a three and Player B makes a six, while Player A on Team USA makes a three and Player B makes a four, the hole is still halved (tied).
- Singles
A full lineup of 12 one-on-one matchups.
3. What is match play?
It’s a significantly different format than any of the four majors and nearly any other event you’ll watch on either the PGA or European Tours, which are medal play (FKA stroke play). The best way to illustrate the differences is to look at the Major League Baseball Playoffs and the differences between a single playoff game and a series.
Stroke play is like a baseball game. Team A scores nine runs in the first inning while Team B scores zero. Even if Team A is shut out for the remainder of the game and Team B scores a run in each of the eight subsequent innings, Team A wins the game 9-8. In stroke play, if Player/Team A plays the first three holes at 3-4-4 and Player/Team B plays them at 9-3-3, Player/Team A still holds a four-shot lead heading into the fourth hole.
No series in history draws a stronger parallel to match play than the 1960 World Series. The New York Yankees won their games by a combined 35 runs. The Pittsburgh Pirates won theirs by a combined seven. But since every game is a clean slate, New York’s 10-0 win in Game 3 was no different than Pittsburgh’s 3-2 win in Game 4. The Yankees won three blowouts while the Pirates won four close games. The Pirates won the series.
Match play is the same notion. The objective is to win a hole and every hole is its own, self-contained battle. If Player/Team A plays the first three holes at 3-4-4 and Player/Team B plays them at 9-3-3, Player/Team B is one up teeing off on the fourth hole.
And because holes are the objective, not every match will go 18 holes. In 2021, only eight of the 28 matches reached the 18th hole. That’s not particularly out of the ordinary.
There are some other critical differences in match play. A key one is that the aforementioned example of Player A taking a three on a hole with Player B taking a nine is virtually impossible — and not just because we’re talking about professional golfers.
If Player A completes a hole, Player B will only continue the hole if he can win or tie it. So, if Player A makes a three and Player B has already taken three (or more) shots, the hole is over. And if Player A is on the green and in good shape after two shots while Player B is struggling to get to the Green in even five shots, Player B will likely just pick up his ball and concede the hole.
Which brings us to another critical difference.
In stroke play, every hole needs to be finished or a player is disqualified. In match play, a player can not only concede a hole but can concede a shot. If Player A has a six-inch putt for a three, Player B will likely concede the putt, even if he still has a chance to tie or win the hole. In the fourball matches, you may even see a team concede a long par putt to a player if his partner has a birdie putt on a similar line.
4. Are there any terms we need to know?
Yes, match play has some terms that you’ll never hear in a regular stroke play event.
- Halve(d): A completed tie. This could be in relation to a hole, a match or even a session.
- All square: An ongoing tie, usually in relation to a specific match.
- Dormie: If a player has a lead in a match where the worst he can do is tie. And if you hear “dormie” with a number after it, the number is how many holes remain.
- In his pocket: You’ll hear this almost exclusively in fourball matches. If a player gets into trouble and it’s clear that his score will not be used for a hole, he may just pick his ball up and let hope his teammate can at least manage a halve.
Now that all of that is out of the way, let’s look ahead to this specific event.
First, we’ll look at the teams.
Who’s the most intriguing player to watch?
Brooks Koepka and it’s not close. If he plays well and leads the American team to victory, Brandel Chamblee may spontaneously combust on the air. He’s come close before.
So much has been made on the formation of the LIV Golf Series and whether those players would be permitted to play in the Ryder Cup. And while LIV did come to a deal with the PGA and European Tours, Koepka is the only LIV player from either team in action. And while his status on the LIV Golf Series has hurt his world ranking, he might be the best player on either team.
Who has the talent edge? It’s very close. Each of the top 13 players in the world will be playing. Of those, seven are Americans and six are Europeans. Europe has an edge at the top of the roster. Scottie Scheffler is the No. 1 ranked player in the world but the next three — Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Viktor Hovland will all be playing for Europe.
The American team definitely has an experience edge at the bottom of the roster. Looking at the bottom six guys on each list, Americans Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, and Justin Thomas are all multiple-time major winners. Conversely, the bottom six guys players on the European have only two major wins, with Justin Rose and Shane Lowry each winning one.
That said, top-to-bottom depth isn’t always required to win a Ryder Cup. While each team has 12 players, only eight per side will go out for each of the first four sessions. If a captain doesn’t have confidence in a player, he can largely hide the player, either on the bench for a session or in the fourball format with a more experienced, steady teammate.
Still, the American side gets a slight edge here.
Do the Europeans have a big home course advantage?
It would sure seem like it.
One, as will no doubt be well documented during the coverage, the Americans have not won a Ryder Cup on European soil since 1993. That’s a six-match home winning streak for the Europeans. Three of the six — including both of the last two — were decisive routes.
Of course, streaks like that can be somewhat deceptive. It’s obviously a different group of players on both sides. Eight of the 24 players at Marco Simone have never played in any Ryder Cup, let alone one in Europe. Additionally, even if that had, none of the previous six were at Marco Simone. But that leads us to our next point.
While Marco Simone has never hosted a Ryder Cup, it’s hosted the Italian Open in each of the last three years. The 2021 and 2022 events were both won by players on the 2023 European roster. Nicolai Højgaard won in 2021 while Robert MacIntyre not only won in 2022, but he beat teammate Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff, a playoff Rory McIlroy missed by only two shots.
So at least some players on the European team have enjoyed great success at Marco Simone. Conversely, nobody on the American team played in any of the three Italian Opens at Marco Simone.
What’s the key to winning?
The simple answer is putting. That’s generally true with all different formats but with the Ryder Cup, the team that putts the best will almost always win.
But there’s something a little deeper. Through 1983, the Ryder Cup was generally dominated by the United States. The American teams went 21-3-1 in that time, with one-halve being an American retention. That shifted in the mid-80s. Since 1985, the European team has an 11-6-1 record, with one-halve being a European retention.
The expansion of the European roster to the entire continent and not just Great Britain or Great Britain and Ireland had a lot to do with that. Still, it’s rare to look at the Ryder Cup rosters and find a European team with a significant top-to-bottom talent edge. Over the last 40 years, Europe has found pairings for the team sessions that work. They’ve done that far better than the Americans.
There’s a lot of new blood this year. And while the last 40 years has generally been dominated by Europeans, the last four have been split, with the Europeans winning convincingly in 2014 and 2018 and the Americans doing the same in 2016 and 2021. The team that can get the most out of its pairings over the first four sessions will likely come away with the win.
Who wins?
Six in a row is nothing to sneeze at. It’s hard to pick against the side that has dominated its home Ryder Cups for the last 30 years.
That said, the American roster is just deeper. Both Johnson and Donald will need to find the right pairings. But with the American depth, it feels like if Donald gets an A for his pairings and Johnson gets a B, it will be close enough for the Americans to win.
As significant as the European home course advantage is, the American depth advantage slightly outweighs it. Also, while there have been only two halves in Ryder Cup history, it’s important to note that Europe has to win while the Americans only need to tie. Expect a tough contest that comes down to the final matches on Sunday. But we’re predicting an American victory on European soil for the first time in 30 years.
Final Prediction: USA 15, Europe 13
