By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer
The Ryder Cup has become everything golf typically is not.
The slow-moving sport features relentless action from the opening tee shot at 7:10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, and it doesn’t stop (except for darkness) until the United States or Europe gets enough points to win after the singles matches on Sunday afternoon.
Civility gives way to hostility when flags are involved, mostly outside the ropes. Golf really doesn’t have a partisan crowd except at the Ryder Cup, where cheers can be for a good shot or a missed putt. The Ryder Cup is personal.
And yes, there is homefield advantage. Europe has had the upper hand in the Ryder Cup for the last 30 years, but it still has won only four times on U.S. soil. The Americans have seven players on their team who were not even born when the U.S. last won the Ryder Cup in Europe in 1993.
It all unfolds Sept. 26 at Bethpage Black on Long Island in New York, known as the “People’s Course” because it was the first state-owned course to host a U.S. Open.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Ryder Cup:
What’s at stake?
An English seed merchant named Samuel Ryder donated a 17-inch gold chalice for the winner of the first Ryder Cup in 1927. It’s one of the biggest prizes in golf.
There are replicas of the trophy for the winning team, but the original stays at the Professional Golf Association headquarters of the current titleholder.
Worth noting: The golfer atop the gold trophy is not Ryder himself — it’s Abe Mitchell, a prominent British golfer from the 1920s.
How to watch the Ryder Cup?
There will be wall-to-wall coverage of the Ryder Cup from the opening shot at 7:10 a.m. Friday morning until the closing ceremony Sunday afternoon.
USA Network will broadcast the Friday matches from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. NBC will take over coverage on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
The first singles match is not expected to start until 12:02 p.m., and matches will follow every 11 minutes after that.
Which team is favored?
The Americans are the betting favorite at -145, while BetMGM Sportsbook has Europe at +160. The betting line is +1200 that the Ryder Cup will end in a tie. The last tie was in 1989 at The Belfry in England, resulting in Europe keeping the cup.
Where is it being played?
The Ryder Cup is at the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, a course that dates to 1936 and is regarded as the strongest taxpayer-owned golf course in the country.
It was refurbished to host the U.S. Open in 2002 (won by Tiger Woods) and in 2009 (won by Lucas Glover). It has twice held a PGA Tour postseason event. And most recently it held the PGA Championship in 2019 (won by Brooks Koepka).
Is President Donald Trump going to be there?
Trump plans to attend the opening session Sept. 26. He would be the first sitting U.S. president to attend. Former President George H.W. Bush went to the 2008 matches at Valhalla.
Trump was in office for his first term when he dropped in on the final day of the Presidents Cup in 2017 at Liberty National in New Jersey.
How were the teams formed?
The United States and Europe had separate qualifying criteria in which the leading six players automatically made the team. Then, each captain was allowed to make six wild-card selections.
Europe returns the same faces — with one new player — from the winning team in Italy. The exception is Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark. He replaced his twin brother, Nicolai, from 2023.
The Americans have six different players from the 2023 matches, including Bryson DeChambeau and newcomer Ben Griffin.
How does the format work?
Two-man teams will play four matches of foursomes (alternate shot) and four matches of fourballs (better ball) on Friday and Saturday. For the final session on Sunday, there will be 12 singles matches.
All matches that end in a tie after 18 holes result in a half-point for each team.
Europe holds the Ryder Cup and needs only to win 14 points to retain the trophy. The Americans will need 14 1/2 points to win the Ryder Cup.
How are the matches determined?
Each captain determines his two-man teams and it’s a blind draw. That means each puts his teams in slots 1 through 4 for the four sessions, and 1 through 12 for the singles.
U.S. captain Ben Crenshaw was the first to popularize the strategy of putting his best players at the top of the lineup on Sunday to try to build momentum.
Only once since 1999 has the Ryder Cup been decided by the final match. That was in 2010 in Wales, when Graeme McDowell defeated Hunter Mahan in the 12th singles match for another European home victory.
Who are the captains?
Keegan Bradley was selected as U.S. captain in July 2024. At age 39, he is the youngest Ryder Cup captain since Arnold Palmer was 34 in 1963. There almost was another Palmer connection as Bradley — the No. 12 player in the world and the eighth-ranked American — contemplated being a playing captain. Palmer was the last one. The Ryder Cup was one-sided back then.
Luke Donald returns as captain for Europe after his successful job in 2023 at Marco Simone in Italy. There hasn’t been a captain who won back-to-back since Tony Jacklin in 1985 and 1987.
Who leads the series?
That depends.
The United States has a 27-15-2 lead that dates to the start of the Ryder Cup in 1927, when it played against only British golfers. Ireland was added to the British side in 1972.
But the modern Ryder Cup really dates to 1979 when continental Europe was added. Since then, Europe holds a 12-9-1 advantage.
Rory McIlroy said winning an away Ryder Cup is the biggest accomplishment in golf. Is he right?
There won’t be much argument from the Americans. They have gone 32 years since last winning the Ryder Cup away from home. The crowd plays a massive role in supporting the home team, and it tends to carry over in terms of momentum.
Europe is the last team to win on the road, and that required what is known as the “Miracle at Medinah” when it rallied from a 10-6 deficit on the final day.
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