PGA Preview: 2012 Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup This is going to be a very fun weekend.  The Ryder Cup is here in the USA, the windy city of Chicago, Medinah to be exact.  Let's discuss the details of this week, formats, and some of the origins of the competition. The Ryder Cup started back in 1927, pitting two teams from the USA and Britain.  It was American pros versus British PGA pros.  Over the years the format has morphed and the fields changed to what we have today, USA versus Europe (not just Britain). The trophy was named after Samuel Ryder.  Ryder was an English businessman who donated the gold trophy. Format The competition is three days of match play in either two man teams or singles matches.  Two man teams games will be played Friday and Saturday, while Sunday's matches are all singles. There are two types of two-man team formats, foursomes and fourballs. Foursomes are two-man alternate shot, which is very difficult.  The players play with one ball, alternating strokes.  In my humble opinion, this is the absolute most stressful team game.  Players do not want to hit a bad shot and leave their partner in a bad position. Fourball competition is essentially a two-man best ball.  Two player teams will use their best individual score on each hole against the other team's best score. Singles matches are just that, individual matches.  Europe typically does better in the two-man team games while the USA typically does better in singles.  Often Europe will build up a big lead on Friday and Saturday, then the USA will come storming back Sunday. Points There are 28 points available, one point for each match.  Therefore there are 28 total matches.  If a two-man team or single player wins their match, they score one point.  If the match is halved or tied, each team or singles player scores 1/2 a point. Getting The Cup Europe won the competition two years ago and is the current holder of the Cup.  For a team to win the cup, they must win the competition.  Therefore, all Europe needs to do to retain the cup is tie.  A tie to Europe is a win.  The USA must win the competition to get the Cup back. European Team José María Olazábal -- Captain Nicolas Colsaerts Luke Donald Sergio Garcia Peter Hanson Martin Kaymer Paul Lawrie Graeme McDowell Rory McIlroy Francesco Molinari Ian Poulter Justin Rose Lee Westwood Thomas Björn -- Vice Captain Darren Clarke -- Vice Captain Miguel Angel Jiménez -- Vice Captain Paul McGinley -- Vice Captain USA Team Davis Love III -- Captain Keegan Bradley Jason Dufner Jim Furyk Dustin Johnson Zach Johnson Matt Kuchar Phil Mickelson Brandt Snedeker Webb Simpson Steve Stricker Bubba Watson Tiger Woods Fred Couples -- Assistant Captain Mike Hulbert -- Assistant Captain Jeff Sluman -- Assistant Captain Scott Verplank -- Assistant Captain

TV (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
Thursday, September 27	Golf Channel	5 PM-6 PM
Friday, September 28	ESPN	8 AM-7:30 PM
Saturday, September 29	NBC	9 AM-7 PM
Sunday, September 30	NBC	12 PM-6 PM