Inicio Ryder Cup From now on, the ‘jokes’ and tranquillity in Bethpage are over
The European team makes the most of their two days of course reconnaissance

From now on, the ‘jokes’ and tranquillity in Bethpage are over

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Hovland, practicando en Bethpage Black | Ryder Cup Europe
Hovland, practicando en Bethpage Black | Ryder Cup Europe

The Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black is gearing up. In a few days, players from the United States and Europe teams will face off in one of the world’s most important sporting competitions, a head-to-head where, this time, Keegan Bradley‘s team will have the advantage of the home crowd, playing on home soil, with the course prepared to their liking and the support of the always enthusiastic and noisy New York crowd.

Luke Donald, captain of the Old Continent team, is well aware of the hostile environment in which his players will seek to replicate their victory from a couple of years ago in Rome. He is working diligently with his players, even using cutting-edge methods, to get them accustomed to what awaits them and ensure it doesn’t affect their game. In addition to this, the Ryder team from Europe is thoroughly studying all the key aspects of Bethpage Black.

This week, the 12 European stars have taken the opportunity to conduct practice rounds at the tournament venue. A sort of reconnaissance of the terrain where they have tried to absorb the secrets of the American course setup and to practice specific shots and situations that may arise during the foursomes and fourballs matches on Thursday and Friday, and in the singles matches on Sunday.

As shared by the team’s official X account, players like Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy have focused on short game and bunker shots, Hatton and the rest of the team have paid special attention to wedges, one of the strengths of the Americans and for which a significant part of the course preparation will surely be focused, and everyone has tried to gauge the fairways of Bethpage Black from the tee, where one of the keys to trying to replicate victory, this time away from home, lies in finding the best lines of play.

Although the speed of the greens may have little to do with what they will encounter next week when the duel begins, the nine holes the Europeans played on Monday and the 18 they completed yesterday also served to analyse the slopes, possible pin positions, the best strategies to attack them, and other details to arrive as well-prepared as possible for the tournament.

After these practice rounds, Donald will give his team a break before they have to return to Bethpage Black next week for all the pre-tournament protocol events, media engagements, official training sessions, and the famous gala where the two teams are presented before the competition itself begins. A brief break that some of the players residing in the USA will use to spend at home with their families, while the rest will enjoy the surroundings of New York, thus avoiding returning to Europe due to jet lag.

The atmosphere, as reflected in all the images shared by the team, is excellent. But the jokes, laughter, and good vibes, along with the ease of playing without the environmental pressure, will soon give way to seriousness, concentration, commitment, and pressure. It remains to be seen if the weather will also change, from this week’s heat, with players in shorts, to the forecast of clouds and a slight chance of rain on the tournament days.