Farmingdale (United States) (AFP) – One of sport’s most gripping emotional rivalries adds another dramatic chapter starting Friday when the 45th Ryder Cup tees off at Bethpage Black. With US President Donald Trump set to boost the intensity on an opening day visit, the biennial United States and Europe matchup that has produced a “War by the Shore,” “Battle of Brookline,” and “Miracle at Medinah” could unleash something to engage or enrage at Bethpage.
More than 50,000 spectators are expected each day at the suburban New York layout, where raucous home fans are likely to provide deafening US support and merciless heckling of Europe golfers. “I hope Friday is just absolute chaos,” eighth-ranked American Collin Morikawa said. “We want to use that to our advantage…we really have to tap into that. I hope they come strong. Watching all these kids, I know they want autographs, but come Friday, I hope they go crazy.”
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England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who won his first US PGA Tour title at last month’s Tour Championship in his 164th event, marveled at a first tee area that figures to be nerve-wracking with raucous singing and chanting fans for every match. “It’s pretty big and the way it’s set up, it’s a little bit further back than what we’ve had over the last few years,” Fleetwood said. “But it’s still the first tee at a Ryder Cup, and we’ll still come away from this week with stories of first tee nerves and things like that. It’s something you’ve got to embrace.”
Fleetwood expects extra motivation for the Americans after a loss at Rome two years ago, recalling the “hammering” Europe took in 2021 at Whistling Straits. “When you’ve lost one, of course you have a chip on your shoulder. You have that feeling of hurt,” said Fleetwood. “One of the most motivating things you can have is watching the other team celebrate when you’ve lost. They’ll have been hurt from last time and they’ll come here and want to win in front of their home crowd. And that’s just as it should be.”
US captain Keegan Bradley says some of his players could compete in the maximum five matches. “We certainly have guys that can go five in our team that we’re comfortable with,” he said. “It doesn’t mean they will. We want to see how the flow is going, how the energy is.” England’s Luke Donald, trying to become the first back-to-back winner as captain since countryman Tony Jacklin in 1987, has 11 returning players from the Rome triumph. Donald was pleased with the Bethpage course set-up guided by Bradley. “It’s nothing really out of the ordinary of what we expected,” Donald said. “Not a ton of rough, the greens are a good speed.”
World number one Scheffler, a two-time Masters champion whose six wins this year include the British Open and PGA Championship, treasures his Ryder Cup memories most of all. “When you look back on your career, these are the weeks that I remember the most,” Scheffler said. “I have some of my best memories of my whole life playing these tournaments.”
Growing intensity – England’s Justin Rose, this year’s oldest Cup player at 45, feels the tension rise as Friday approaches. “Playing with fans in was a good step up in gear. The opening ceremony being moved forward is another feeling of, ‘OK, we’re getting closer to the start line,'” Rose said. “It’s all going to start to feel very real, and the intensity of it is going to grow and grow as the week goes on.”
The US squad will need 14.5 points to win the Cup. Europe, winners in 10 of the past 14 meetings, need only 14 of 28 points to retain the trophy. The Americans lead the all-time rivalry 27-15 with two drawn, but Europe lead 12-9 with one drawn since their team was expanded beyond Britain and Ireland in 1979. The format includes four morning foursomes (alternate shot) matches and four afternoon four-ball (best ball) matches on Friday and Saturday with 12 concluding Sunday singles matches.
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