Each team will compete in four alternate shot foursomes matches on Friday and Saturday mornings and four four-ball matches in the afternoons, sitting out four players from each session. Rose and Stenson won all three of their matches together at Gleneagles two years ago.
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While it is assumed O’Connell didn’t go down the route of that famous Six Nations speech, Clarke revealed that even to those on the team less familiar with the sport of rugby, O’Connell’s had them all, to a man, hanging on his every word. “That was never, never in doubt”.
“It’s a big golf course, everything about it is big”, the 72-year-old Englishman told Reuters in an interview on the practice range as he prepared to play in the eve-of-competition Past Captains Challenge.
“We’ve got players who can step up and deliver”, Rose said. The only way to win the Ryder Cup, he says, is to “play better golf”.
During Wednesday’s practice rounds, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker all bombed their drives in the middle of the fairway, but were still left with 340 yards-plus for their second shots.
The last Ryder Cup ended in ignominious and acrimonious fashion for the USA, as Mickelson criticized the captaincy of Watson – sitting a few seats to his left – in the final news conference.
“Hal was an incredible captain”, said Love, who played on that team and went 1-3-1.
“We’re dividing responsibilities”, Love said of himself and his assistants.
The holes that are going to play as the 15th, 16th and 17th, where every green is fronted by water, look certain to provide some match play drama this week.
“Patrick Reed for the last six months, I mean, he’s just been talking so excited”.
“How you handle things just in general, like when you’re walking onto the first tee and stuff, little things like that”, said Sullivan.
Lee Westwood is the elder statesman on the European team.
Englishman Samuel Ryder started the event in 1927 with the donation of a small gold cup costing £250, a year after watching Great Britain beat the United States in an unofficial contest at Wentworth. “We’re all coming together playing for Europe – that’s pretty special”.
“When I got up and spoke to the team last night, you could see Phil inching forward in his seat, and he said, ‘Can I add something to that, Captain?’ ‘Yes, please, ‘” Love said. It forced me to stop my preparation for the tournament, to stop chipping and stop putting and stop sharpening my game and stop learning the golf course, in an effort to crash-course and learn a whole different golf ball that we were going to be playing. He’s ready to go play. Masters champion Danny Willett came under scrutiny when his brother wrote a column for a British outlet bashing the American fans.
The 46-year-old was left trying to play Woods’ high-spin ball, and U.S. were eventually beaten 18 1/2 – 9 1/2 by Europe. No need to stew over the last time the Ryder Cup was held at home and the Americans blew a 10-6 lead on the final day at Medinah, the most crushing loss in two decades filled with defeats. None of that matters to Love.
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2012: “It ain’t over until we say it’s over!”
