Sports Writing (USA) (EFE).- Bethpage Black in New York will become, starting this Friday, the stage for the eternal Ryder Cup clash between Europe and the United States, in an edition – the 45th – marked by the fervor of the New York public and the attendance of Donald Trump.
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Europe, captained by Englishman Luke Donald and with Spaniard Jon Rahm and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy as major references, seeks to repeat the title achieved two years ago in Rome, a greater challenge as it is contested this time on rival territory, also in the always hostile setting of New York. The United States, with Keegan Bradley as captain, relies on its great star, Scottie Scheffler, number one in the world since 2023, to try to regain the Ryder Cup.
Although the United States continues to dominate the historical standings with 27 titles compared to the 15 of Europe (which began as Great Britain before integrating the rest of the continent), Europe has taken the lead in the last three decades, taking 10 of the 14 most recent editions.
The Trump Factor
The President of the United States, a big golf fan, owner of several courses and a personal friend of some members of the local team, such as Bryson DeChambeau, will attend Bethpage Black this Friday to support the American team. “When you represent your country at a place like Bethpage Black in New York, having the president there supporting you is absolutely incredible. I am really grateful to him for doing it for us,” Bradley said in the preview. “That first ‘tee’ at Bethpage, with the president there, will be something to remember forever,” he added. In this second term, Trump is embracing major sporting events: he basked in the crowd at the Super Bowl, toured the Daytona circuit in Nascar, presented the FIFA Club World Cup trophy to Chelsea, and watched Carlos Alcaraz conquer the US Open.
“Many of us have already played in front of a rival audience. Maybe not in New York,” warned Luke Donald, who said he has instructed his players to be “respectful of the public” and focus on playing golf to prevent hostility from escalating.
Although the stands can also turn against the Americans if they do not meet expectations: for the first time, golfers will receive remuneration for participating in the tournament, $200,000 per head, which is added to another $300,000 destined for charitable causes of their choice.
The Ryder Cup is concentrated in three days, from Friday to Sunday, with a total of 28 matches, whose protagonists are decided by the respective captains.
In the first two, matches are played in duos, with four daily matches in the ‘fourball’ format, where each golfer plays their own ball and the lowest card wins the hole, and another four ‘foursome’, where there is only one ball per pair and they hit it alternately.
On Sunday, there are twelve head-to-head matches in the ‘match play’ format. They compete hole by hole and the winner of each one gets a point, instead of adding up the total strokes on a course (‘stroke play’), the usual format in golf competitions.With 28 points at stake, the team that reaches 14.5 lifts the gold cup. In case of a tie at fourteen, the winner of the previous edition, in this case Europe, retains the title.
