The Ryder Cup has become everything golf typically is not. The slow-moving sport features relentless action from the opening tee shot at 7:10 a.m. on Friday…
The Ryder Cup has become everything golf typically is not.
The slow-moving sport features relentless action from the opening tee shot at 7:10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, and it doesn’t stop (except for darkness) until the United States or Europe gets enough points to win after the singles matches on Sunday afternoon.
Civility gives way to hostility when flags are involved, mostly outside the ropes. Golf really doesn’t have a partisan crowd except at the Ryder Cup, where cheers can be for a good shot or a missed putt. The Ryder Cup is personal.
And yes, there is homefield advantage. Europe has had the upper hand in the Ryder Cup for the last 30 years, but it still has won only four times on U.S. soil. The Americans have seven players on their team who were not even born when the U.S. last won the Ryder Cup in Europe in 1993.
It all unfolds Sept. 26 at Bethpage Black on Long Island in New York, known as the “People’s Course” because it was the first state-owned course to host a U.S. Open.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Ryder Cup:
An English seed merchant named Samuel Ryder donated a 17-inch gold chalice for the winner of the first Ryder Cup in 1927. It’s one of the biggest prizes in golf.
There are replicas of the trophy for the winning team, but the original stays at the Professional Golf Association headquarters of the current titleholder.
Worth noting: The golfer atop the gold trophy is not Ryder himself — it’s Abe Mitchell, a prominent British golfer from the 1920s.
There will be wall-to-wall coverage of the Ryder Cup from the opening shot at 7:10 a.m. Friday morning until the closing ceremony Sunday afternoon.
USA Network will broadcast the Friday matches from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. NBC will take over coverage on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 6 p.
