The two sides have never been closer and the last five Ryder Cups were decided by six points combined. The Ryder Cup matches have also become more hostile over the last decade. The U.S. side’s premature celebration in 1999 over the 17th green -–with Justin Leonard sinking the 50-footer for birdie to tie Jose Maria Olazabal, who still had his putt to match Leonard but was disrupted by the Americans on the green-- only fuelled the fire.
The fans are definitely becoming more raucous, boisterous and, in some cases, intoxicated. Given the hecklings that European golfers had to endure on the U.S. soil two years ago, this 34th Ryder Cup in England is highly anticipated, if for reasons other than golf.
On paper, U.S. is vastly superior and should easily score at least 14 out of 28 attainable points and retain the Cup, but the favourite status meant nothing in the last three matches, two of which went to underdog Europe. Even in its 1999 victory, the U.S. team had to mount a historic comeback on Sunday to garner 8 ½ points in singles and win 14 ½ to 13 ½ .
The U.S. team members were selected on the basis of Ryder Cup points, which could only be gained by top-10 finishes in PGA Tour tournaments. The players accumulated points from January, 2000 through 2001 PGA Championship, just prior to the Ryder Cup. Those in the top 10 points list made the team, and the remaining two spots were chosen by captain Curtis Strange.
The European representatives were selected in a different system. The points, based on the European Tour money list, were compiled starting in September 2000 through August 2001, a few weeks after the PGA Championship. However, the players had to play in European PGA Tour events to gain Ryder Cup points. The only U.S.-based tournaments where European players could get points were the three majors held in the U.S. --the Masters, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
