The 2016 Ryder Cup is about to tee off and all Illinois fans have a reason to be proud.
Former Illinois Fighting Illini men’s golfer Thomas Pieters made the European Team this year and will be facing off against the United States.
I am all red, white, and blue when it comes to sports so it will be tough to root for any Euro.
But, I think it will be similar to what I am doing with my fantasy football teams. If a player I have on my team plays against the Chicago Bears I want that player to do well as long as the Bears win.
So for the Ryder Cup, I would love to see Pieters do well, but ultimately the United States needs to emerge victoriously. The USA takes precedent over all rooting interests.
Today, the groups are playing in foursomes. The format is alternate shot so the two Americans will be playing one ball.
Here are the pairings for the morning round.
7:35 AM CT: Jordan Spieth & Patrick Reed vs. Henrick Stenson & Justin Rose
7:50 AM CT: Phil Mickelson & Rickie Fowler vs. Rory McIlroy & Andy Sullivan
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8:05 AM CT: Jimmy Walker & Zach Johnson vs. Sergio Garcia & Martin Kaymer
8:20 AM CT: Dustin Johnson & Matt Kuchar vs. Lee Westwood & Thomas Pieters
I am most excited to see what Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed can do in an alternate shot. This is a group of young Americans with passion and fire.
Pieters tees off at 8:20 AM CT with Lee Westwood as his partner. They are matched up against Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar.
The pairing of Johnson and Kuchar is awfully dangerous. Kuchar is good around the greens and Johnson can pound the ball off the tee.
On Friday afternoon the players head back out for a four-ball format. This is essentially a best ball match-play.
Each player on the two-man team plays their own ball and at the end of the hole, they take the best score. If that score beats the other team’s best score then they win the hole.
Pairings are not made for this format or any future format yet.
Saturday is the same format as Friday with foursomes in the morning and four-ball in the afternoon. And then on Sunday it turns into an all-out brawl.
On Sunday the format is singles play. This means it is regular match-play one-on-on.
The United States needs 14 ½ points to win the Ryder Cup and make America proud. It has been a while since that has happened, but I think this year could be a changing of the guard.
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