Before the annual Ryder Cup tees off on September 28th, here are some main points to be aware of for this year’s event. First off, it is to be known that Paris, France will be the location of the 42nd Ryder Cup. The course hosting will be Albatross Golf Resort at Le Golf National. With the European team being the “home” team, having some control over the course layout plays a huge role to the strategy in winning the cup. With the European players typically being more accurate driving the ball off the tee, hitting fairways is going to be a must this week. This might make for an interesting adjustment by the Americans, due to their normal strategy from week to week on the PGA tour including bombing it as far as they can with the driver and then making their approach onto the green no matter the length of grass. Water will also be an exciting element of trouble highlighted in this year’s event. Looking like more pars will win holes rather than the hopeful birdie on each hole from past US hosting courses.
Secondly, the players representing the stars and stripes are looking to take the Ryder Cup away from home soil for the first time since 1993. As someone born in 1993 this is something hard to imagine and deem true. This week’s event is the second time the host course will be located in continental Europe, the other being in 1997. With all of the American talent throughout the late 90’s as well as the arrival of the legendary Tiger Woods, it looks like it will take a Michael Jordan like return to help the team bring home the cup.
Lastly, the Albatross opened in 1990 and has respectably hosted many national events, but most notably has made massive renovations to the facility to hold the massive crowds expected this week. One advancement that will stand out to viewers watching the event on television, will include the enormous grandstand areas. This will be the most highlighted area holding spectators on the first tee with an incredible 6,000 plus seating capacity. This is nearly 4,000 viewers larger than any other structure in previous events. With most of these seats filled with confident European supporters, American hopefuls will have to wait and see if the men in red, white, and blue can overcome all the odds and take down the mighty blue and gold.
