© Dan Perry via Wikimedia Commons

The 43rd biennial clash between the United States and Europe was scheduled for September 25-27 on the shores of Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, in Whistling Straits. The appointment would be made for the two teams that will play the 43rd edition of the Ryder Cup at the same location from September 30 to October 3, 2021, dates which were to be those of the Presidents Cup 2021, according to ESPN, citing an anonymous source.

The PGA of America and the European Tour had considered various options, including playing this year without fans or with a limited number of spectators. But top players have expressed concern about the possibility of playing a Ryder Cup without supporters.

"It wouldn't be a Ryder Cup", world number one Rory McIlroy said in a TaylorMade podcast when asked what a Ryder Cup would be without fans. McIlroy has made the Ryder Cup five times. “It's Europe that comes to America, knowing that I'm going to get beaten up. Obviously it would be better for Europeans to play without fans because we wouldn't be dealing with the fans at all, but at the same time, it wouldn't be a big show. There would be no atmosphere. "

“So if we had to choose between not playing the Ryder Cup or playing it without supporters, I would say we should delay it for a year. "

Added to this is the quadruple major champion Brooks Koepka, who has played in the last two editions: “It's the fans who make this event. The fans make this event special. If we're not playing in front of fans, it's like playing a game in Florida. There is no pressure. There is no excitement. Fans are creating excitement for the Ryder Cup. "

Koepka added that some players would have boycotted the event if it took place in September without fans.

Travel restrictions could also have had an impact on team selection if this year's games had been played as planned.

Training effect

The postponement of the Ryder Cup forced the PGA Tour to move the Presidents Cup 2021 to the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte in 2022 at the same location.

The 44th edition of the Ryder Cup, scheduled for 2022 in Italy at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome, is also on the list of reports. This match will now take place in 2023 in the same place.

The COVID pandemic will once again change the qualification system. With COVID halting the qualification system for three months, U.S. captain Steve Stricker was given two additional discretionary caps - from four to six, or half the squad.

Qualifying for the United States had also been extended through the BMW Championship from August 27-30, the second of three FedExCup qualifiers. That would have meant that only one major championship - the PGA Championship August 6-9 at Harding Park in San Francisco - would have been included in this year's qualifying round. The US Open at Winged Foot in New York has been postponed to the week before the original Ryder Cup date, and the Masters in Georgia have been postponed to November.

Europe have also revised their qualification process, with captain Padraig Harrington seeing his discretionary picks drop from four to three. Europe will be made up of three captains, four players from the European points list and five from the world points list. However, the European Tour has not been played since the Qatar Masters in the first week of March and is expected to resume in July, so players could only rack up points on the world roster. Top players like Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari, Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood haven't played since March.

Europe is in possession of the 43cm tall, 2kg gold trophy thanks to the victory over the Americans, 17½-10½, at the Golf National in Paris in 2018. Europe has won nine of the last twelve competitions , with the United States only victorious in 2016, 2008 and 1999.

To know more : https://www.rydercup.com/

To read our last article on the same subject :

Ryder Cup: Rory McIlroy thinks it will be postponed to 2021