The event started in 1927 as the United States against Great Britain, with teams made up of players from England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands winning two of the first four Ryder Cups.
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There is already trophy-case hardware for Woods from Le Golf National.
“What would make me nervous?” “I think we would both welcome it”, said Mickelson, repeating himself as if to emphasise the point.
Reed thrives in a Ryder Cup environment like nowhere – and no one – else, and while he played at the Tour Championship in Atlanta last week, his mind was unashamedly on taking on Europe again.
Now it’s time to play.
So how many points are needed to win the Ryder Cup?
“We could hear it on the putting green, which was right next to the first tee, but when you got on the tee you could actually feel it”. The Americans have confidence from winning big at Hazeltine two years ago – Woods was a vice captain that week – and from a team that boasts nine major champions. We have already seen a insane variety of shots, outcomes and reactions during the first day of action at Le Golf National, and it will surely continue as we watch more high-quality golf from the best players in the world over the next two days. “It’s very special”, he said. Then there is the crowd factor with the first tee’s near-7,000 capacity stand certain to ramp the pressure on the Americans. If Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau can match that performance it will translate to five points, perhaps with an additional half, from 10 or 11 matches. “There’s a lot of you in this together, so I think good or bad, you’re going to get carried through it all week”. It looked tiring (on video) to have to play golf like that for three days. You can’t second guess it; it’s not worth the effort and you’ll just get yourself into trouble.
“We’ve had this WhatsApp group going, all the Ryder Cup players and vice-captains and captains for the last few weeks, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at Jon’s input into it”.
“It was evident last week when he won, to see the response and the excitement level, the energy that he brings”.
The Junior Ryder Cup features 12-player teams, males and females, from the United States and Europe.
Both captains delivered the same message: Their teams are so strong that they had loads of options and tough choices on whom to sit.
European rookie Tommy Fleetwood detailed Pep Guardiola’s passion for the Ryder Cup after revealing he had received a message of support from the Manchester City manager ahead of this week’s event.
Bjorn said he would accept a split of the morning matches considering he has four rookies playing, though he hopes for more. I’m just waiting for them to be like ‘oh, wait, can you draw the shield?’ You know, it’s pretty cool. “It’s a good problem to have to have. but this week I’m definitely Captain America”.
“It’s nerve-wracking. You try and put your ball on that tee and it takes you a couple times to get it to settle on there”, McIlroy said.
Bjorn expressed his pride at leading the team during the opening ceremony and although he did not specifically reference Brexit, the Dane appeared to make a pointed reference to the situation. And if he manages to win his matches, and the USA wins the Ryder Cup on European soil for the first time in a quarter of a century, he’ll go a long way toward completing a transformation that few could have foreseen a year ago.
Woods was still in high school.
“I won’t ever say it wouldn’t happen, but it’s probably not too likely”.
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After a slow-burn start to his professional career, then a dire loss of form that left him outside the top 100 two years ago, Fleetwood has roared back to the top of the European game.
