GOLF – EVENT – Ryder Cup 2021 – It finally takes place after a year of delay
The Ryder Cup 2021
It finally takes place after a year of delay
It’s America’s turn to host the team competition, and the chosen venue is Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
The Ryder Cup is named after English businessman Samuel Ryder, who donated the trophy in 1927.
Every two years, the US takes on Europe in an intense competition of golf skill, with teams chosen partly based on their stats, but also on the team captains’ selections.
This year, the USA captain is Steve Stricker, while the Europe team is led by Padraig Harrington.
The competition takes place over three days and has a very different style of play than most major golf events.
We break down everything there is to know about the Ryder Cup before it starts.
The 2021 Ryder Cup began on September 24 and will end on September 26, 2021.
The 2021 Ryder Cup teams
Steve Stricker is the captain of Team USA and has named five vice captains: Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples.
There are six rookies on this year’s US team, and the team overall is one of the youngest in recent years.
Qualified players are:
- Collin Morikawa
- Dustin Johnson
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Brooks Koepka
- Justin Thomas
- Patrick Cantlay
The captain’s choices are:
- Tony Finau
- Xander Schauffele
- Jordan Sppieth
- Harris English
- Daniel Berger
- Scottie Scheffler
Of these players, the rookies are Morikawa, Cantlay, Shauffele, English, Berger and Scheffler.
In the European team, the automatic qualification took much longer, which means that many people were not yet confirmed for the team until very recently. It is made up of the first four players on the European points list, the next five players on the world points list and three wild cards.
Currently, the players are:
- John Rahm
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Rory McIlroy
- Viktor Hovland
- Paul Casey
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Matt Fitzpateick
- Lee Westwood
- Shane Lowry
- Sergio Garcia
- Ian Poulter
- Bernd Wiesberger
The team from Europe won the last Ryder Cup, which took place in Paris at Le Golf National.
The US has won 26 of the previous competitions, compared to 14 victories in Europe, according to the official website.
How is the Ryder Cup played?
There are three types of matches in the tournament: foursomes, four balls, and singles
Ryder Cup Format: Each of the first two days includes fourball and foursome matches: 4 each morning and 4 each afternoon. The last day is reserved for 12 individual matches.
In foursomes, each team has two players who play alternating shots on each hole. The pair with the best score on each hole wins a point, and the highest number of total points wins the match.
Ryder Cup Scoring – Each match is worth one point. The matches drawn earn ½ point for each side. The first team to reach 14 ½ points wins the Ryder Cup. If the final score is 14 points in total, the team that owns the Ryder Cup retains it.
