The Ryder Cup rookie factor: Does it matter how many debutants are on your team? September 27, 2018 If the number of rookies in his team has caused Thomas Bjorn any sleepless nights in the lead-up to Friday's first day of the Ryder Cup then Europe’s captain did his best to hide it earlier this week. The hosts will have five debutants in their ranks at Le Golf National – Tommy Fleetwood, [...]
How the Ryder Cup became one of sport’s biggest events – and why it might be about to become even bigger September 26, 2018 The Ryder Cup has come an awful long way since British garden seed entrepreneur and golf enthusiast Samuel Ryder spawned the competition as we now know it during the mid-1920s. More than 50,000 spectators per day are expected to pay an average of £115 to attend the contest at Le Golf National, near Paris, [...]
Sam Torrance: USA are rightful Ryder Cup favourites but Europe thrive on underdog role September 26, 2018 On paper, the 12 men wearing the striped shirts at Le Golf National this week might comprise the strongest line-up that the United States has ever sent to a Ryder Cup. But then I can’t remember the last time that Europe started out as favourites. We love being the underdog. We don’t realise that [...]
Ryder Cup 2018: Why Le Golf National course could be just as influential for Europe as any player this week September 26, 2018 When Colin Montgomerie captained Europe at Celtic Manor eight years ago, hoping to reclaim the Ryder Cup after a crushing defeat at Valhalla two years before, he instructed the groundsmen to make the course as fair as possible. "I don't think it is right to set the course up in any other way than [...]
Sam Torrance: Tiger Woods’s second coming is here and he is capable of anything now September 24, 2018 I think we can safely say that Tiger Woods is back. Five years and several rounds of surgery on from his previous win, he stood up and batted off all of his rivals at the Tour Championship on Sunday – just as he always used to. He was magnificent, it is huge for golf [...]
Sam Torrance: Captains’ decisions, team spirit and home advantage – the factors which could shape the Ryder Cup September 17, 2018 European captain Thomas Bjorn may have selected his four wildcard picks for next weekend’s Ryder Cup, but there is still a lot to be decided between now and the first tee. The team will arrive at Le Golf National, outside Paris, on Sunday night in order to familiarise themselves with the course ahead of the [...]
Sam Torrance: Captains’ decisions, team spirit and home advantage – the factors which could shape the Ryder Cup September 17, 2018 European captain Thomas Bjorn may have selected his four wildcard picks for next weekend’s Ryder Cup, but there is still a lot to be decided between now and the first tee. The team will arrive at Le Golf National, outside Paris, on Sunday night in order to familiarise themselves with the course ahead of the [...]
Tiger Woods v Phil Mickelson: Is the $9m match good for golf or a tacky sideshow? September 16, 2018 Over the next few weeks the attention of golf fans will be increasingly drawn to a genteel corner of France nestled by the Palace of Versailles, where Europe and the United States will resume hostilities in the finest traditions of the Ryder Cup. Once that’s over, however, an altogether gaudier spectacle will be competing for [...]
Tiger Woods v Phil Mickelson: Is the $9m match good for golf or a tacky sideshow? September 16, 2018 Over the next few weeks the attention of golf fans will be increasingly drawn to a genteel corner of France nestled by the Palace of Versailles, where Europe and the United States will resume hostilities in the finest traditions of the Ryder Cup. Once that’s over, however, an altogether gaudier spectacle will be competing for [...]
The City and Wall Street go head-to-head in Carnegie Cup September 14, 2018 OK, Yankees, it’s on! The Carnegie Links 18-hole Championship is set to host the ultimate golfing face-off between the best of the City and the best of Wall Street. In a Ryder Cup-style format, the most respected golfers from financial institutions from both financial centres will go head-to-head in celebration of the links Andrew Carnegie [...]