Everything you need to know about the 2018 Ryder Cup: TV schedule, match format, lineups
It's about time for the Ryder Cup, the biennial match-play tournament between the best the United States has to offer and the top golfers from Europe. Things often get heated and the gamesmanship often is through the roof, making the Ryder Cup one of the more interesting golf tournaments to watch, which this year means getting up plenty early to see it. Here's what you need to know.
TV (all times Eastern)
Thursday: Opening Ceremony, 11 a.m., Golf Channel.
Friday: 2 a.m.-1 p.m., Golf Channel.
Saturday: 2 a.m.-3 a.m., Golf Channel; 3 a.m.-1 p.m., NBC.
Sunday: 6 a.m.-1 p.m., NBC.
SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
Thursday: Opening Ceremony, 11 a.m.
Friday: 2:10 a.m., four-ball matches; 7:50 a.m., foursomes.
Saturday: 2:10 a.m., four-ball matches; 7:50 a.m., foursomes.
Sunday: 6:05 a.m., singles matches.
BETTING ODDS (as of Monday)
USA -140 (meaning the Americans are favored)
Europe +140
Tie +1500
THE COURSE
Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France, is about 13 miles to the southwest of Paris's city center. It's just the second time the event has been held on the European continent, and there have been some worries that France's, shall we say, limited interest in the sport could make for an unexciting event. But organizers are promising 51,000 spectators at each of the three match days.
"It will be a noisy week, like any Ryder Cup," Pascal Grizot, president of the Ryder Cup Committee, told ESPN.
ROSTERS
The teams are chosen via a points system of each delegation's choosing. The top eight in each system received an automatic bid onto their team. Each captain was allowed to make four additional picks of his choosing beyond the top eight.
Team USA (Jim Furyk, captain): Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Tiger Woods (captain's pick) Phil Mickelson (captain's pick), Bryson DeChambeau (captain's pick), Tony Finau (captain's pick).
Team Europe (Thomas Bjorn, captain): Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Thorbjorn Olesen, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Alex Noren, Henrik Stenson (captain's pick), Sergio Garcia (captain's pick), Paul Casey (captain's pick), Ian Poulter (captain's pick).
Match pairings will be announced later this week.
FORMAT
The Ryder Cup consists of 28 matches over three days: eight four-ball matches, eight foursomes matches and 12 singles matches. Each team gets one point for winning a match, with a half-point awarded to each team for matches that are tied after 18 holes. A team must garner 14 1/2 points to win the Ryder Cup; in the event of a 14-14 tie, the defending champion retains it (Team USA is the defending champion this year).
Four-ball matches: Two teams of two golfers each, with each golfer playing his own shot. The team with the golfer who has the lowest individual score on each hole wins the hole. If the low scores are tied, the hole is halved. Most holes won wins the match.
Foursomes matches: Two teams of two golfers each, with the golfers alternating shots. The players also alternate tee shots. Each hole is won by the team that completes the hole in the fewest shots. A tie means the hole is halved. Most holes won wins the match.
Singles: One-on-one matches, with the lowest score winning each hole.
A NOTE ON SCORING
Match-play scoring terminology can take some getting used to, especially for fans used to the stroke-play events that dominate the PGA and European tours. In match play, scoring to par does not come into play. Instead, it's all about how many holes you've won.
Here's how to translate.
During matches, teams are said to be "1-up," "2-up," etc., depending on how many holes they are ahead. Tied teams are dubbed "all square."
"Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson def. Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose, 3 and 2": This means Woods and Mickelson led Molinari and Rose by three holes with two holes left to play, an insurmountable lead. It also means that the match did not go 18 holes, as often happens in match-play events.
"Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson def. Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose, 1-up": This means the match went the full 18 holes and that Woods and Mickelson won one more hole than Molinai and Rose.
"Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson def. Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose, 2-up": This means that Woods and Mickelson were "dormie" with one hole to play - meaning they were 1-up with one hole to play and could do no worse than a tie for the match - then won the 18th hole.
"Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson def. Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose, 5 and 3″: This means that Woods and Mickelson were 4-up with four holes left to play (they were dormie, in other words) and then won the next hole.
RECORDS
Team USA has a 26-13-2 record at the Ryder Cup but is only 8-10-1 against Team Europe since 1979. Before that, the European team was composed of golfers only from Great Britain, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey and Jersey. Since then, it has been open to golfers from across the continent.
PLAYER NOTES
- Mickelson will be appearing in his 12th Ryder Cup, a record, and has appeared in 45 Ryder Cup matches, one short of Nick Faldo's all-time mark. He's 18-20-7 all-time at the Ryder Cup.
- Woods, making his eighth Ryder Cup appearance, is just 13-17-3 in 33 career matches. He's 4-1-2 in singles but 9-16-1 in four-ball and foursomes matches.
- Reed has lost just one of the nine Ryder Cup matches he has played over two appearances, going 6-1-2.
- Watson is 3-8-0 all-time at the Ryder Cup, losing all three of his singles matches and both of his foursomes matches.
- Garcia is back for his ninth Ryder Cup and has a 19-11-7 match record.
- Poulter is 12-4-2 all-time at the Ryder Cup and never has lost a singles match (4-0-1).
- Molinari, this year's British Open champion, has never won a Ryder Cup match in two appearances, going 0-4-2.
- Thomas, DeChambeau and Finau are making their Ryder Cup debuts for Team USA. Hatton, Fleetwood, Oleson, Rahm and Noren are the newcomers for Team Europe, which had six rookies in 2016 (none of them made this year's team).