The Long Wait is Over: The Ryder Cup Begins the Last Week of September!
September 6, 2016
Back in 2002, Minnesota golf fans were thrilled with the announcement that the 2016 Ryder Cup would be played at Hazeltine Golf Club, in Chaska, Minnesota. It was a great day for Minnesota sports fans, but the truth is, 2016 seemed so far away at the time.
We’re now just under a month away, as the world’s greatest golfers will be squaring off in the sport’s greatest team event, where the best players in the United States take on the best players from Europe. EMC is thrilled to share chalet space with 3M and Thompson Reuters and will have team members on hand each day to cheer on the USA squad.
The Ryder Cup is different than any other event in the sport. The players aren’t playing for themselves, but for their country. The pressure on the players is immense, as a missed putt or a wayward drive doesn’t just penalize your score in a tournament, but your entire team. The crowds are immense and louder and more involved than at any regular tournament. It’s perhaps the only tournament where you’ll see both golfers and fans high-fiving and fist-pumping after a made putt on the third hole.
The Ryder Cup is played in even-numbered years between 12-member teams from the United States and Europe. It consists of five match-play sessions played over three days. The first two days of competition (Friday, September 30, and Saturday, October 1) consist of eight matches of four-ball (best ball) and eight matches of foursomes (alternate shot). The last day of competition (Sunday, October 2) will stage 12 singles matches. It is an event where both great shots and missed ones are etched forever in the history of the sport.
The USA dominated the Ryder Cup in the early years, but the script has been completely flipped over the past couple of decades, with Europe winning eight of the last ten and the past three in a row.
Europe will come to Minnesota captained by Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland. Clarke was the focal point of one the most emotional Ryder Cups ever played in 2006, when he was named as a captain’s pick just six weeks after losing his wife to breast cancer. Clarke went 3-0 in the competition as Europe trounced the U.S. team 16.5 to 11.5.
Europe’s roster for the 2016 Ryder Cup is set and will be led by Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Henrik Stenson of Sweden, who are both ranked in the top five in the world. They’ll be joined by Rafa Cabrera Bello and Sergio Garcia of Spain, Englishmen Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Andy Sullivan, Danny Willett, Chris Wood and Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer of Germany and Thomas Pieters of Belgium.
Clarke named Westwood, Kaymer and Pieters as his captain’s picks, the first two for their experience (the European team will have six Ryder Cup rookies) and Pieters for his stellar play of late. This will be Westwood’s ninth Ryder Cup and his 21 career points rank fifth all-time for Europe, just four points behind the all-time Ryder Cup points leader, Nick Faldo.
Davis Love III is team USA’s captain, and he’ll be trying to avenge the one-point loss he suffered as the USA coach back in 2012. Eight players have automatically qualified for team USA, and Love will name four captain’s picks to fill out the roster. Already qualified are Phil Mickelson, who’ll be playing in his 11th Ryder Cup, the most ever by an American, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Jimmy Walker, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson. Experience won’t be a problem for the U.S. as Koepka is the only Ryder Cup rookie.
Love will name three of his captain’s picks on September 12 and will name his final pick after the Tour Championship on September 26. Most golf experts assume Love will choose four of the following five players: Jim Furyk, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and J.B. Holmes. That’s not to say that someone else can’t get into the mix with a hot September.
Of that group, Furyk is the only one who has been eliminated from the FedEx Cup playoffs, so he won’t be able to “play” his way on to the team, but many expect Love to choose Furyk for his experience, as his nine Ryder Cup appearances are second only to Mickelson for team USA.
What once seemed so far off for Minnesota sports fans is now just weeks away. The Ryder Cup will be the biggest golf event ever played in the state and EMC couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it. Please check back here for another preview before the matches begin and we’ll also have a post wrapping up the competition the week after.
