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A view of the sixth hole at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.
BELOW LEFT: European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke won the 2011 Open
Championship at Royal St. George’ s.
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ever two teams lineup in Hazeltine, whatever two final teams are there, I’ m sure it’ s going to be two very, very strong teams and it’ s going to be a closely-contested contest as it has been.
“ Certainly we are going there with the intention of playing as well as we can and see what happens.”
THE COURSE With the 2016 Ryder Cup, Hazeltine will become just the second course in the U. S. to have hosted the U. S. Open, PGA Championship, U. S. Senior Open, U. S. Women ' s Open, U. S. Amateur and Ryder Cup.( Pinehurst Resort is the other.)
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Building upon the initial architect’ s design, Robert Trent Jones recrafted Hazeltine before its official opening in 1962. Known for its extreme difficulty— wind plays into almost every shot— Hazeltine was lengthened and modernized by Rees Jones prior to the 1991 U. S. Open.
The historic par-72 now plays at 7,628 yards, and features a bevy of rolling hills, mature woods, water and wind, providing an exciting round for golfers of all skill levels.
“ I think that Hazeltine is an excellent example of what we should do,” Phil Mickelson said, regarding the redesign that put Hazeltine back on the major championship scene.“ It’ s really a wonderful setup at testing the entire elements of a player’ s game. And I hope that the courses we use in the future continue to do the same.”
THE FORMAT During the Ryder Cup, competition is split into three formats: four-ball, foursomes, and singles competition. Here’ s how each Ryder Cup format works. As you see, this is where leadership and captaincy really comes into play. Matchups make all the difference.
FOUR-BALL( FIRST TWO DAYS)
• First, the U. S. and European captains pair their own players into two-man sides.
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• Then, each two-man team is matched against one from the opposing sides.
• During play, each member of a two-man side plays his own ball, so four balls are in play on every hole.
• At the end of each hole, each sides counts the lower of its two scores.
• The side whose player has the lowest score wins the hole. If the low scores are tied, the hole is halved.
• At the end of the match, scores are totaled to determine the winning side, which earns a point for its team. If each team’ s final score is the same, the point is halved.
FOURSOMES( FIRST TWO DAYS)
• Again, U. S. and European golfers are paired into two-man sides.
• Each two-man side plays one ball per hole, with the players taking turns until each hole is complete. Players take turns hitting tee shots, with one team member leading off on odd-numbered holes, and the other hitting first on even-numbered holes.
• The side with the low score on each hole wins that hole. If their scores are tied, the hole is halved.
• At the end of the match, scores are totaled to determine the winning pair, which earns a point for its team. If each side’ s final score is the same, the point is halved.
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LEFT: BIGSTOCK; TOP: GARY KELLNER / PGA OF AMERICA VIA GETTY IMAGES |