The 42nd Ryder Cup takes centre stage in France from Friday as Team Europe take on Team USA in the biennial event that pits some of the finest golfers on the planet against one another. Expect thrills, spills, some terrible chants from the crowd and lots of drama!
Don't know your Rory McIlroys from your Bryson DeChambeaus or your foursomes from your singles? Don't worry, we've put together a handy guide so you can impress your friends with your Ryder Cup knowledge:
Who, What, Where, When?
The Ryder Cup takes place every two years and the 2018 edition is being held on the Albatross Course at Le Golf National, near Paris, France, from 28 - 30 September. The tournament sees a team of twelve European players take on twelve American players in a match play format involving fourballs, foursomes and singles.
The Teams
The respective European and American teams are made up of twelve players each. Eight of those players qualified for the Ryder Cup automatically on the basis of their performances during the past two years, while the other four were selected as 'wildcards' by their captain. The captains this year are Thomas Bjorn for Europe and he has five debutants (or 'rookies' in Ryder Cup terms) in his team, while USA captain Jim Furyk has just the two rookies in his side.
Odds, Points And Matches
There will be 28 matches played across the three days and the first team to 14.5 points will win the Ryder Cup, although USA only need 14 points to retain the trophy they won at Hazeltine in 2016. Points are allocated on the basis of one point for a win, half a point for a tie and zero points for a loss in each match.
USA are currently 5/6 favourites to win the Ryder Cup for the first time on European soil since 1993.
Europe can be backed at 11/8 and the draw is 12/1, according to the latest Ryder Cup Odds.
Each match involves 18 holes and there are three different formats.
The Friday will see Europe take on USA in four fourballs matches and four foursomes matches over the course of 18 holes each, with Saturday following the same structure, before the singles on Sunday.
What are foursomes? Not nearly as naughty as they sound. Foursomes are also known as 'alternate shot' where each pairing will compete with the same ball, taking it in turns to play a shot.
What are fourballs? Fourballs (or 'best ball') involves a pair of players from each team playing with their own ball and the lower score from each hole goes towards the pair's total for the round.
What are singles? No, this doesn't involve Tinder. The singles take place on Sunday and see each European player take on an American counterpart over the course of 18 holes in a match play clash. All 24 players from both teams will be in action on the final day.
The captains will each pick their pairings for the foursomes and fourballs, and they will also decide in which order their players go out for the singles matches on Sunday.
Schedule Of Play
The Ryder Cup will be live on Sky Sports. Set your alarms as the live coverage starts at 6.30am on Friday and Saturday, and at 9.30am on Sunday. The Sportsman will be providing the best reaction and updates throughout.
