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How to play a Ryder Cup? It may seem like a trivial question for insiders, but not for those who have recently approached this fantastic world. Moreover, this year for the first time in history, the Ryder Cup will take place in Italy, in Rome, on the course of the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.
But first of all you need to be prepared about the game mode. Twelve players from the United States will compete with twelve European players in Match Play matches, i.e. in direct matches, hole by hole, where the hole is won with fewer strokes than the opponent.
Whoever manages to win the most holes out of eighteen holes will have won the match. For this reason you may see a player 1 Up when leading by one hole, 2 Up leading by 2 and so on. Or you may hear of a player being 3 Down when trailing by 3 holes.
Or All Square, with the score tied.+
Ryder Cup, schedule
Each match won in Ryder cup is worth 1 point. A drawn match is worth half a point. The current format of the event (in a future article I will talk about the various changes throughout history) provides for 28 matches and consequently 28 points available.
The team that reaches 14 and a half points first wins the cup! In the event of a 14-14 draw, the cup would remain in the hands of the holder (in this case the United States who won the last one in 2021 in Whistling Straits in Wisconsin).
All this takes place in 3 days. The first two days of competition include doubles matches called fourballs and foursomes. The order is determined by the host captain (Luke Donald for Europe). The third day consists of 12 single matches.
In fourballs, each representative of a team of two players plays their own ball, so four balls are in play on each hole. Each team chooses the better score (fewer strokes) of its two on each hole, and the team whose player has the better score wins the hole.
If the best scores are tied, the hole is tied. In foursomes, each team of two players plays one ball per hole with players taking turns until each hole is completed. Players alternate tee shots, with one starting on odd holes and the other playing first on even holes.
The team with the best score on each hole wins that hole. Even in foursomes the hole is tied if finished with the same score. In singles, each match fields one player from each team. The player with the lowest score on each hole wins that hole.
The concept of a balanced hole also applies here. Unlike in stroke play, players are not required to complete every hole in match play. If a player concedes a stroke – almost always a putt – to his opponent, the opponent picks up his ball, counts one extra stroke in the score and moves on to the next hole.
All clear ? If you have any doubts read my previous articles on the history of the Ryder cup! In collaboration with I Viaggi di Seve
