The 42nd Ryder Cup blasts off on Friday with four morning matches and four afternoon matches at Le Golf National outside of Paris, France. I say blasts off because the Ryder Cup is like a rocket ship, a biennial event fueled by team competition, adrenaline rushes and a raucous atmosphere that’s far from the norm in the golf world.
The comeback of Tiger Woods, including his win at the Tour Championship and inclusion on the U.S. Ryder Cup team as a captain’s pick, pours more fuel into this international competition as Tiger and his teammates will attempt to win on European soil for the first time in 25 years.
Following is a preview that includes need-to-know basics about the Ryder Cup, how to watch it, a look at the teams and more.
New to the Ryder Cup?
Here's what you need to know about matches, points, and how we ultimately win. pic.twitter.com/gt1GSI4ZPM
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) September 24, 2018
2018 Ryder Cup Format and Schedule of Matches
The Ryder Cup is contested as match play rather than stroke play competition. That means players try to win individual holes rather than shoot the lowest overall score. Players who are ahead by more holes than there are holes remaining to play win their match and earn a point for their team. Tied matches earn a half point for each team.
The Ryder Cup consists of 28 matches over three days. The team that earns 14.5 or more points will win the Ryder Cup. In the event of a 14-14 tie, the United States will retain the Cup since it won the most recent Ryder Cup in 2016.
Team USA arrives in France with the Ryder Cup trophy (Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)
Match formats are foursomes (alternate shot), fourball (better or best ball) and singles. Foursomes and fourball formats pit two U.S. players against two European players. In foursomes, two players on each side take turns hitting the same ball until it’s holed. In fourball, players on each side play their own ball and the lowest hole score from each team is recorded. The singles format pits one U.S. player against one European player.
There are morning and afternoon matches on both Friday and Saturday. Representing the home team, Captain Thomas Bjorn will choose the format played first on Friday, either foursomes or fourball.
Following are the tee times for all 28 matches. (All times are Eastern.)
2018 Ryder Cup Tee Times
Friday, September 28
Morning matches: 2:10 a.m., 2:25 a.m., 2:40 a.m. and 2:55 a.m.
Afternoon matches: 7:50 a.m., 8:05 a.m., 8:20 a.m., 8:35 a.m.
Saturday, September 29
Morning matches: 2:10 a.m., 2:25 a.m., 2:40 a.m. and 2:55 a.m.
Afternoon matches: 7:50 a.m., 8:05 a.m., 8:20 a.m., 8:35 a.m.
Sunday, September 30
Singles matches: 6:05 a.m., 6:17 a.m., 6:29 a.m., 6:41 a.m., 6:53 a.m., 7:05 a.m., 7:17 a.m., 7:29 a.m., 7:41 a.m., 7:53 a.m., 8:05 a.m. and 8:17 a.m.
Ryder Cup Trophy Presentation: 12:45-1 p.m.
2018 Ryder Cup Course Preview
Le Golf National is a parkland-style course located 20 miles west of Paris. It opened in 1990. The Ryder Cup will be contested on the Albatros Course, which measures 7,183 yards and will play to a par of 71. The venue is the home of the European Tour’s French Open.
“If you start to hit it offline, it really does punish you,” Rory McIlroy said in the Irish Examiner. “There’s a few holes where you have to be conservative and try to take your pars. I think you can be a little aggressive on the par 5s. And those last four holes will bring quite a lot of excitement.”
2018 US Ryder Cup Team
Team USA Group Photo (Ryder Cup USA/Twitter)
Captain Jim Furyk
Furyk, 48, has made nine player appearances in the Ryder Cup. His record was 10-20-4. Phil Mickelson is the only U.S. player with more appearances. Furyk’s vice captains are David Duval, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Davis Love III and Steve Stricker.
USA Team Captain Jim Furyk (Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)
Brooks Koepka
Koepka, 28, qualified for the U.S. team based on points. He has won back-to-back U.S. Opens. This is his second appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 3-1-0
Dustin Johnson
Johnson, 34, qualified for the U.S. team based on points. He has three wins on the PGA Tour this season and is the 2016 U.S. Open champion. This is his fourth appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 6-5-0
Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka crouch down to read a putt together (Jamie Squire/Golf Digest)
Justin Thomas
Thomas, 25, qualified for the U.S. team based on points. He has three wins on the PGA Tour this season and is the 2017 PGA champion. This is his first appearance in the Ryder Cup.
Patrick Reed
Reed, 28, qualified for the U.S. team based on points. He won the 2018 Masters, his first major victory. This is his third appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 6-1-2
Tiger Woods
Woods, 42, joined the U.S. team as a captain’s pick. He won the season-ending Tour Championship to end a five-year victory drought. This is his eighth appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 13-17-3
Fan favorite Tiger Woods will tee it up with playing partner Patrick Reed aka ‘Captain America’ (Getty Images)
Jordan Spieth
Spieth, 25, qualified for the U.S. team based on points. He has won three of the four majors, most recently the 2017 Open Championship. This is his third appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 4-3-2
Rickie Fowler
Fowler, 29, qualified for the U.S. team based on points. He has four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. This is his fourth appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 2-4-5
Webb Simpson
Simpson, 33, qualified for the U.S. team based on points. He won the Players Championship in May and is the 2012 U.S. Open champion. This is his third appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 2-3-1
Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau, 24, joined the U.S. team as a captain’s pick. He has three wins on the PGA Tour this season, including consecutive victories in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. This is his first appearance in the Ryder Cup.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson, 48, joined the U.S. team as a captain’s pick. He won the WGC-Mexico Championship in March and is a five-time major champion. This is his 11th appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 18-20-7
Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson answer questions during press conference. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images Europe)
Bubba Watson
Watson, 39, qualified for the U.S. team based on points. He has three wins on the PGA Tour this season and is a two-time Masters champion. This is his fourth appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 3-8-0
Tony Finau
Finau, 28, joined the U.S. team as a captain’s pick. He has 11 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. This is his first appearance in the Ryder Cup.
Team USA Players to Watch:
All of them because there are always surprises during Ryder Cup week. But I’m mostly wondering about the young and the old, those three rookies (Thomas, DeChambeau and Finau) and the 40 somethings—Woods and Mickelson. Will they turn in solid performances or wilt under the Ryder Cup pressure? For Tiger and Phil, this may be their last hurrah.
2018 European Ryder Cup Team
Team Europe Group Photo (Ryder Cup Europe/Twitter)
Captain Thomas Bjorn
Bjorn, 45, has made three player appearances in the Ryder Cup. His record was 3-2-1. Bjorn’s vice captains are Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Robert Karlsson, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood.
Francesco Molinari
Molinari, 35, qualified for the European team based on points. This season he won the BMW PGA Championship and the Open Championship, his first major victory. This is his third appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 0-3-2
Justin Rose
Rose, 38, qualified for the European team based on points. This season he won the Fort Worth Invitational and the FedEx Cup. This is his fifth appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 11-6-2
FedEx Cup winner Justin Rose of England will take his game to France to join Team Europe (Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton, 26, qualified for the European team based on points. He won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and Italian Open in consecutive weeks in October 2017. This is his first appearance in the Ryder Cup.
Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood, 27, qualified for the European team based on points. He won the European Tour’s Race to Dubai in 2017 and repeated as champion of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in 2018. This is his first appearance in the Ryder Cup.
Thorbjorn Oleson
Oleson, 28, qualified for the European team based on points. He won the 2018 Italian Open and has four top-six finishes on the European and PGA tours. This is his first appearance in the Ryder Cup.
Jon Rahm
Rahm, 24, qualified for the European team based on points. He won the Career Builder Challenge (PGA Tour) and Spanish Open (European Tour) this season. This is his first appearance in the Ryder Cup.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy, 29, qualified for the European team based on points. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March and has three runner-up finishes this season. This is his fifth appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 9-6-4
Rory McIlroy tees off during a practice round at Le Golf National at the 2018 Ryder Cup. (Reuters)
Alex Noren
Noren, 36, qualified for the European team based on points. He has six wins on the European Tour since July 2016, including the 2018 HNA Open de France. This is his first appearance in the Ryder Cup.
Paul Casey
Casey, 41, joined the European team as a captain’s pick. He has 15 wins on the European and PGA tours. This is his fourth appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 3-2-4
Sergio Garcia
Garcia, 38, joined the European team as a captain’s pick. Since 1999 he has amassed 22.5 points for Europe in eight Ryder Cups and claimed his first major victory at the 2017 Masters. This is his ninth player appearance. Matches record: 19-11-7
Ian Poulter
Poulter, 42, joined the European team as a captain’s pick. He is known for his Ryder Cup heroics and has 15 wins on the European and PGA tours. This is his sixth appearance. Matches record: 12-4-2
Henrik Stenson
Stenson, 42, joined the European team as a captain’s pick. He has 15 wins on the European Tour, including the 2016 Open Championship. This is his fifth appearance in the Ryder Cup. Matches record: 7-7-2
Team Europe Players to Watch:
The Europeans band together and become superheroes during the Ryder Cup. This time there are five rookies on the team. How will they handle the enormous stage? And pay attention to Captain Bjorn’s picks—Casey, Garcia, Poulter and Stenson—all selected for Ryder Cup experience rather than their current form. If they flop, Bjorn will be roundly criticized.
2018 Ryder Cup Tournament Details
Dates: September 28-30
Course: Le Golf National (Albatros Course)
Par: 71
Yardage: 7,183 yards
Teams: United States and Europe
Defending: United States, 17-11 winners at Hazeltine in 2016
Winner: Receives or retains the Ryder Cup
2018 Ryder Cup TV Coverage
All times Eastern.
Friday, September 28: Golf Channel 2 a.m.-1 p.m.
Saturday, September 29: Golf Channel 2 a.m.-3 a.m.; NBC 3 a.m.-1 p.m.
Sunday, September 30: NBC 6 a.m.-1 p.m.
2018 Ryder Cup Live Streaming
Live streaming coverage is available at RyderCup.com and via Ryder Cup mobile apps.
Neil Sagebiel
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