Can you smell it?

Breathe it deep into your lungs. It's that time of year again. It's the time that the pros love. It's the time that the spectators love. If Happy Gilmour were real, it's the time he would love. For many there is huge disappointment and regret, for only 12 players can tog out for Team Europe and Team America.

The Ryder cup is the pinnacle in golf for many players and a win brings the ultimate in golfing bragging rights. Sure, they all want to win a major and salivate at the thought of wearing a green jacket or hoisting the Claret jug aloft, but the Ryder cup is different, as it is a team competition and the best golfers in the world are usually playing alone, apart from their caddy.

This competition brings the best out in certain players who thrive at matchplay, guys like Ian Poulter who nobody wants to play against on a Ryder cup Sunday or any other Ryder cup day for that matter! Then you have the fans, who really get into this like no other golf tournament. It is tribal and it matters. Neither set of fans want to concede an inch and even though it's a tired cliche, I'll say it anyway, the home crowd can often act as a 13th man for the home team. The massive roars from the galleries feed the emotion and adrenalin of the players and when it is close as things near completion on the last day, the crowd and atmosphere really do matter.

The Teams

Here are the two teams that will battle it out at Whistling Straits, a golf course which can only be described as a dog of a course. There's danger around every corner and it's all about risk and reward. The spectacle should be enthralling for all us golf fanatics.

Team Europe 🇪🇺

Jon Rahm
Tommy Fleetwood
Tyrrell Hatton
Bernd Wiesberger
Rory McIlroy
Viktor Hovland
Paul Casey
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Lee Westwood
Shane Lowry (Captain's Pick)
Sergio García (Captain's Pick)
Ian Poulter (Captain's Pick)

Team USA 🇺🇸

Collin Morikawa
Dustin Johnson
Bryson DeChambeau
Brooks Koepka
Justin Thomas
Patrick Cantlay
Tony Finau (Captain's Pick)
Xander Schauffele (Captain's Pick)
Jordan Spieth (Captain's Pick)
Harris English (Captain's Pick)
Daniel Berger (Captain's Pick)
Scottie Scheffler (Captain's Pick)

Now anyone reading through those teams would ssy advantage team USA, as all their players are ranked 21st or better in the world rankings and they boost the world number 2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10 and 11. Thats 9 of the top twelve in the team. But rarely is it as simple and straightforward as that. Form and world rankings can go out the window when it comes to matchplay, especially match play in a Ryder cup.

Now to be fair Team Europe does boast John Rahm, the world number 1, but after that we go to 13th for Victor Hovland and 15th for Rory, so the favorites with the bookmakers is most certainly USA, but my rose-tinted money is on Europe to spoil the American party and win it by 15 1/2 to 12 1/2

For any readers unfamiliar with the Ryder cup format , let me reshare something I wrote a while back when posting about the Ryder cup

The Ryder Cup Format

So most readers probably understand the format, but for those that don't here is a quick education. The Ryder Cup is a golf tournament played every two years between Europe and the USA. each team is made up of twelve players, nine of which are decided by form alone, and the remaining three wildcard picks are made by the captain of each team.

There are 28 points up for grabs in total, so to win outright the target is 14.5 points. A draw is possible, however, should that happen the team who previously won retains the trophy and title. So, after triumphing in some style in France in 2018, Europe are reigning champions, and so 14 points will do it for them this September when Ryder Cup 2020 is finally played.

The Ryder Cup is played over 3 days, with all games being matchplay, which makes for great excitement for spectators, as things can change quickly, and 3,4 and 5 shot deficits have been turned around over the years.

For the benefit of those who have no idea what matchplay means, it basically means the players play head to head on each hole. So say both players have parsbon the first hole, that match remains all square. They move to the second where player A gets a birdie and player B gets a par. Player A is now 1 Up. When the 18 holes have been played whichever player is Up wins and gets one of the precious 28 points for their team. There can of course be draws as well and if both players or pairings are level or all square after 18 holes, each team gets 0.5 of a point and believe me, every 0.5 of a point really matters as sometimes it goes right down to the wire, like Medinah in 2012! More on that later.

The first day has 8 points up for grabs. They play 4 foursomes matches and then four fourball matches or vice versa. The foursome in particular makes for great viewing, as the pros play every second shot, meaning you really need good chemistry and trust in your playing partner. The fourball format involves each player playing their own ball only, and the best score to count on each hole for each team.

Day two follows a similar format, with 4 fourballs and 4 foursomes, so by the end of day 2, 16 points have been shared out.

Then, we are left with the exciting finale, when all 12 players from each team take to the course and do battle for the remaining 12 points. It is always good from a neutral point of view when it is pretty close going into day 3, but as a proud European and Irishman, 16-0 after day 2 would do just fine :o)

These two legends will be hoping to be pivotal in managing their team to glory.

So now the excitement is building, and it's only six days until we settle onto the couch and watch golfs greatest show unfold. I for one, cannot wait!! For those of you lucky enough to have tickets, remember to share them here with us mere mortals and give us a view from inside the ropes as you watch one of these teams lifting this famous trophy aloft in glory.

The photos used throughout are not my own and were sourced here:
http://www.pixabay.com
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Ryder_Cup
http://rydercup.com

Thanks for reading

Peace Out