Sep 18 2008
Ryder Cup Starts Tomorrow
After opening ceremonies this afternoon at Valhalla Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky, the Ryder Cup–the biannual competition pitting 12 golfers per side from the U.S. and Europe–begins play tomorrow morning. There will be eight matches Friday and eight more Saturday. There will be four “foursome” matches both mornings and four “fourball” matches both afternoons.
In foursome play, you and I are a team. Beforehand, we decide to have me tee off on the first hole. You’ll tee off on the second hole and we’ll alternate from there. I put the first tee shot behind a tree. You have to play from there. You make a great shot to the green but I miss the birdie putt. You tap in for par and start looking for a new partner.
In fourball play, you and I are a team. However, we both play every hole from start to finish. If I shoot a double-bogey on the first hole and you earn a birdie, then “we” score a birdie. Thanks partner!
If we win the first hole, we’re one-up. We win the hole by having a better score on the hole than the team we’re playing. An eagle beats a birdie and a double-bogey beats a triple-bogey so don’t worry about the other matches being played. If both teams have the same score, the hole is halved and we move to the next hole.
If we start one-up and then lose the next three holes, we’re now two-down. If we rally to win the following two holes, the match is all-square. Every match at the Ryder Cup has a maximum of 18 holes. No playoffs. If our team and the other team win the same number of holes, the match is halved and both sides get half a point.
As the match progresses, we’ll want to be dormie. That means we lead by many holes as there are left. Three up with three to play, for instance. That means we could tie the match but we can’t lose. If we win 3-and-2, that means we’ve won three more holes than our opponents and there are just two holes left. They can’t catch us so we can quit early. If we win 1-up, we played all 18 holes and emerged with one extra hole victory.
Paul Azinger, American team captain, and Nick Faldo, European team captain, won’t play this weekend. It’s their job to configure the 12 players on their team into pairs that win gain points. After two days of fourball and foursome matches, Sunday features 12 singles matches. Every player faces one man from the other team.
Friday morning’s foursome pairings were announced this afternoon. Tomorrow afternoon’s pairings will be announced tomorrow. Azinger decided to put Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim together in the first group. Separately, Faldo chose to have Robert Karlsson and Padraig Harrington play first. Their lists were fused and the match was created. There’s an element of suspense because neither captain knows what the other will do until it’s too late to change anything.
