After three years of waiting and speculation, it’s time to put the tees in the ground and balls in the air. The 43rd Ryder Cup is here.
The biennial event between 12 of the best golfers from the United States and all of Europe begins on Friday morning at Whistling Straits’ Straits Course in Haven, Wisconsin, with four foursomes matches, followed by four four-ball matches in the afternoon. Europe has won seven of the last nine events, while the Americans last won in 2016 when they hosted on home soil.
From impressive shots to funny fans and everything in between, stay up to date with all the latest news and analysis of the 43rd Ryder Cup.
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Party started early for the Ryder Cup on Friday
Team Europe player Lee Westwood putts on the first green during day one foursome matches for the 43rd Ryder Cup golf competition at Whistling Straits. Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
The party started early for the Ryder Cup on Friday at Whistling Straits.
The gates opened for fans at 6 a.m. By then there were already long lines of cars in the dark on the county highways that lead into the course on Lake Michigan.
By 6:45 a.m. the grandstands around hole No. 1 were full and DJ Shawna was getting the fans riled with bass-heavy tracks as the sun rose over the lake.
After the recorded music stopped, fans made up their own soundtrack. There was a spontaneous rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and some songs that pods of fans just invented.
As the golfers made their way to the hole, there were raucous cheers.
— Benjamin Steele, Gannett Wisconsin
Americans miss early (8:31 a.m.)
You hate to see this, especially on the first for Team USA. In front of a loud crowd in the first match of the event, Justin Thomas got the ball rolling down the fairway, setting up good friend and teammate Jordan Spieth to tuck in a close approach (which he did). Thomas had an eight-footer left for birdie and it wasn’t even close. The Americans lost a golden chance to take an early lead after Sergio Garcia’s opening drive found a bunker.
— Adam Woodard
Ryder Cup morning match fast facts
Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia (EUR) vs. Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth (USA)
• Jordan Spieth is the second-youngest American to play in the Ryder Cup; he was 21 years and 61 days old when he played in 2014. (The youngest U.S. Ryder Cup player is Horton Smith, who was 20 when he played in 1929.)
• As a professional in partnered match play, Spieth has a stellar career record of 15-4-3 and is 7-1-2 in Foursomes.
• Justin Thomas enters the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits with wins in each of his last three matches; that’s the longest winning streak of any player on this year’s teams.
• As a professional, Jon Rahm has a career match-play singles record of 8-4-2 that includes a 2-and-1 win over Tiger Woods at the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris.
• With 22 wins and seven halves in his 41 career matches, Sergio Garcia has earned more points than any player in Ryder Cup history. His 22 match victories rank second among all Europeans behind Nick Faldo (23).
Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa (USA) vs. Paul Casey vs. Viktor Hovland (EUR)
• Paul Casey is 1-1-0 in Ryder Cup Foursomes, winning with David Howell in 2006 and losing with Henrik Stenson in 2008.
• Viktor Hovland won the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links, becoming the first player from Norway to do so, and on his way to the final, he won back-to-back matches by 7-and-6 scores.
• In 2019, Hovland was the low amateur at both the Masters and U.S. Open; the last player to earn low amateur honors at these two events in the same year was Matt Kuchar in 1998.
• Dustin Johnson had a 4-0-1 record at the 2017 Presidents Cup — the only player on either side to win more than three times.
• Collin Morikawa’s perfect 4-0 record at the 2017 Walker Cup included an 8-and-7 Foursomes victory with partner Norman Xiong.
Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick (EUR) vs. Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger (USA)
• Brooks Koepka compiled a 3-1 record, winning twice in only 14 holes, while making his Ryder Cup debut in 2016 at Hazeltine National GC.
• In the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, Daniel Berger ranked second in rounds in the 60s, trailing only Jon Rahm.
• This is Lee Westwood’s 11th Ryder Cup appearance, tying him with Nick Faldo for the most career appearances by a European player.
• Westwood’s span of playing in the Ryder Cup over a period of 24 years, from 1997 to 2021, shares the record (with Dai Rees) as the longest of any European player in history.
• Then the world’s No. 2-ranked player, Matthew Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., in 2013, becoming the first Englishman to claim the title in more than a century (since Harold Hilton in 1911).
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter (EUR)
• Over the course of his career, Rory Mcilroy’s singles record in professional match play events is 32-17-3 and he is 44-25-6 overall.
• McIlroy and Poulter are 2-1-1 in partnered Ryder Cup matches. They won a Four-Ball match in 2012, halved in Foursomes in 2014 and went 1-1 in Foursomes in 2018.
• Patrick Cantlay was one of four players (along with Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele) to win three matches for the winning U.S. team at the 2019 Presidents Cup.
• Xander Schauffele has a career record of 6-4-1 in professional match play competitions. He and Patrick Cantlay were 2-0 in Foursomes at the 2019 Presidents Cup.
— Golfweek
Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/2V95qPJ