Everywhere you turn they are talking about the Ryder Cup – so what’s all the fuss about?
Well, it’s golf. Golf, golf and more golf; it’s like the World Cup final in the golf world (the difference being of course only the USA and Europe are allowed to play!). We’ve been writing about the Ryder Cup for a while now but this might be a good time to do a quick recap to help you bluff your way through the birdies, pars and tigers of the competition!
The Ryder Cup is held every 2 years and alternates between a venue in the US and a venue in Europe. If you want to read up on the history of the event click here (the quick recap is they are playing for the Ryder Cup trophy and the bragging rights not money for a change). There are two teams competing, Team Europe and Team USA with each team comprising of 12 players and a non-playing captain.
The Ryder Cup Teams for 2006 are as follows:
| Position | Team USA | Team Europe |
| Captain | Tom Lehman | Ian Woosnam |
| 1 | Tiger Woods | Henrik Stenson |
| 2 | Phil Mickelson | Luke Donald |
| 3 | Jim Furyk | Sergio Garcia |
| 4 | Chad Campbell | David Howell |
| 5 | David Toms | Colin Montgomerie |
| 6 | Chris DiMarco | Paul Casey |
| 7 | Vaughn Taylor | Robert Karlsson |
| 8 | J.J. Henry | Padraig Harrington |
| 9 | Zach Johnson | Paul McGinley |
| 10 | Brett Wetterich | Jose Maria Olazabal |
| 11 | Scott Verplank | Darren Clarke |
| 12 | Stewart Cink | Lee Westwood |
The competition is being held at the K Club in Ireland this year. This is a first for Ireland and a crowd of approx 40,000 people a day are expected to attend the event. There are stringent security measures in place and access to the village of Straffan is restricted. Fans are advised to use the Park and Ride facilities to get to the event or to use the Rail Shuttle service. For a zoomable map of the area click here.
By the way Tickets are long since sold out. Unless of course you have the budget to pay top dollar for any one of the corporate packages still available.
OK so how does it all work? Well it differs from most golf events in that it is a team event and also the format of the games varies with a combination of Foursomes, Four balls and Singles matches. Don’t know what these mean don’t worry they are just different ways of getting a ball from one end of a golf course to another! For a more exact description of the formats click here.
So who’s going to win? Europe….no the USA….eh no Europe…maybe a tie. Nobody knows but the expectation this year is for a much tighter competition than the previous event. Europe are favourites having won 4 of the last 5 matches, but the depth and strength of the US team is formidable. Tom Lehman has also focused his efforts on team building this year and the US are hoping this will pay a dividend. Remember that this is a Matchplay event rather than the normal Strokeplay tournament – which means that you win or lose on each hole rather than adding up all your stroke for an entire round. It’s a long shot but I’m nearly tempted to throw a couple of pounds down on a tie myself.
Technorati tags ryder cup, golf
Here is a question I’m afraid to ask. I know the players donate their proceds to charity, but does the captain donate his salary too? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Ryan, nobody gets any money for playing in the Ryder cup – there is no prize fund – their expenses are met and that’s it.
Are we going to see a fair selection of all the matches or will the television turn this tournament (like it does every other)into “THE TIGER WOODS AND SOD EVERYBODY ELSE SHOW”.
A wonderful three days of golf for all lovers of the game……have been looking forward to it for ages…vring it on.
[…] Just a short post for all those who are searching for Ryder Cup 2007 (we are getting a large number of visitors here who have searched for “ryder cup 2007″) – there is no Ryder Cup 2007! The Ryder Cup is held every two years (for a brief overview have a look at Everything You Wanted to Know about the Ryder Cup but Were Afraid to Ask). The Ryder Cup used to be held on odd years until 2001 when it was postponed due to the September 11 tragedy. Since then it appears alternately in Europe and America every two years, on even numbered years. Ryder Cup 2008 is the next event scheduled to be held at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky. Tags: […]
Does anyone know what is engraved on the Ryder Cup trophy when the teams tie?