Its here! Its here! The 2014 Ryder Cup is scheduled to start tomorrow! The pundits have made their predictions, the experts inched out onto a limb and the fanatics have all chosen sides. The PGA® Centenary Course, at the Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland, is ready for the horde of sporting enthusiasts to descend on their peaceful community like a plague of locust! The only problem with this whole scenario is that many of us will have to experience the highs and lows of every play from afar! Going to a Ryder Cup is on my bucket list and someday I will be one of those amazed fans rooting for my favorite team.
Let the Games Begin at the 2014 Ryder Cup!
Each team has been dissected, probed and over-analyzed. The captains have been second-guessed to the nth degree, but they have stood fast by their decisions. Everyone is ready for the matches to begin and history to be made at the 2014 Ryder Cup!
theScore, written by Adam Sarson, has profiled the US Ryder Cup Team. Sarson says:
Team USA will be looking to win their first Ryder Cup since 2008 and their first on European soil since the last time Watson was the captain back in 1993. Key players like Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson won’t be playing this week, but Watson still has a solid group of established PGA Tour players on his side.
BBC Sports, has highlighted the European Ryder Cup Team. They have not provided the same detail as theScore, but shows how each player qualified.
In all, nine nationalities and three debutantes are included in the team which will bid for Europe’s third successive Ryder Cup victory.
Each team has its strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, which ever team is hot at the beginning of the event will likely ride the wave of adrenaline to victory. When the teams were first selected on 2 September, everyone was leaning towards the European team as hands down favorites. However, over the past couple of weeks, the attitudes of many experts seem to have shifted. The four sites selected (and there are thousands more) provide some very persuasive reasons for their picks. They are worth checking out if you are still on the fence.
The Ryder Cup is an exciting event. There are many head-to-head battles that capture the golfing world. It is very likely that all golfing enthusiasts will tune in to hear the shot by shot account of the action. In anticipation for the matches, here are a couple of things to watch for:
- Tom Watson’s strategy of matching players. For the US team to win this will have to be perfect!
- Phil Mickelson playing like the Phil of old. Again a must if the US is to have any chance.
- Rickie Fowler playing head to head against Rory McIlroy and playing to a draw.
- Rory McIlroy not losing a match.
- Ian Poulter’s fiery eyes will be matched by Keegan Bradley’s.
- Sergio Garcia sinking the winning putt on Sunday!
To make it clear, the European team will win. This selection is made with my head and not my heart. I am a huge Phil Mickelson fan and rarely cheer for the other team, but the European Team is just too strong. They are peaking at the right time and have demonstrated resilience all year. Playing in Scotland will only fuel their desire to win the 2014 Ryder Cup!
What do you think? Who are you cheering for? Why?
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 