After all the talk, all the buildup, the Ryder Cup 2016 will finally get underway with the foursomes on Friday. USA and Europe have both sounded bullish coming into this tournament, but the pressure will certainly be on the Americans, owing to the fact that they have such a poor recent Ryder Cup record and they will be playing at home, at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota.
Both teams have a mixture of rookies and experienced Ryder Cup pros, so it is difficult to pick a clear favourite. Europe certainly have the advantage when it comes to performing in a team environment, and while the US might have the overall better ranked individuals, their challenge will be, as it always seems to be, to come together as a team and perform.
That is where the captain Davis Love III comes in. Love's job is to ensure he picks the right pairings, the ones who complement each other well and makes up for each other's weaknesses. The fact that Love has a vastly experienced team of vice-captains to call upon also helps, with Tiger Woods already using that golfing brain of his to good use.
The foursomes, to be played on Friday morning, will give everyone an idea of what to expect and how well this US team can play together. It will also give everyone a chance to see if Team Europe are as strong as the ones of old, considering there are plenty of rookies in this lineup this time.
Darren Clarke will hope his pairings band together perfectly in the foursomes, leaving him with a few easier decisions to make in the four-balls in the afternoon.
The crowd support will naturally be with the Americans, but that can work both ways. It might inspire the US team to raise their game or it might crank up the pressure and force mistakes as they try too hard.
Love will hope it is the former; Clarke will bank on the latter, while also expecting his players to cope with the hecklers and sledges that are bound to come their way.
Where to Watch Live
Ryder Cup Day 1 is scheduled for a 7.35am local time (8.35am ET, 1.35pm BST, 6.05pm IST) start. Live Streaming and TV information is below.
International, including India: Live Streaming: Rydercup.com.
India: TV: Ten 1 and Ten Golf HD. Live Streaming: Ten Sports live.
US: TV: Golf channel. Live Streaming: NBC Sports live.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 1. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
Canada: TSN1, 3, 4, 5. Live Streaming: TSN TV.
Germany, Italy and Austria: TV: Sky Sports.
Spain: TV: Canal +.
Scandinavia: Viasat Golf.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports 3. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport 4. Live Streaming: Sky Go NZ.
Middle East: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
