The majority of casual sports fans will usually be drawn to the high scoring and action-packed team sports, such as Football, American football, basketball, or rugby. They are usually much easier to follow and are the type of sports that bars often will be showing on big screens, drawing in huge crowds, especially for big matches in some of the world’s biggest competitions.
That’s not to say that individual sports such as tennis or golf aren’t popular too. In fact, it is estimated that over 50 million people tuned in to watch Wimbledon, one of the four major slams that the world’s top tennis players participate in. The US Open recently took place, where British teenager Emma Radacanu defied the odds to win the tournament, an amazing achievement given she is still only 18 and had to qualify just to make it to the first round stage. Millions of people around the globe watched this momentous occasion, which shows just how popular tennis is.
Golf isn’t a sport for everyone. Many millions of people enjoy playing it, but it is safe to say that there are far fewer casual fans of it than tennis, soccer or basketball. Despite this, there are a few big tournaments that people will often tune in for; The Masters (held in early April) the PGA Championship (taking place in mid-May next year) the U.S. Open (usually in mid-June) and The Open Championship (which is scheduled for July 14-17 in 2022). Millions of people who don’t watch golf the rest of the year will turn on for these tournaments,and possibly sign up to gtbets and place bets on their favourite players.
While golf is ordinarily an individual sport, with every player competing against each other for personal glory, there is one huge event that brings players together into teams every two years, the Ryder Cup. This year the cup took place at Whistling Straights in Haven, Wisconsin, two sides battled it out against each other in fourballs, foursomes, and a singles event, bringing glory to the USA team this year.
On one team, you had 12 of the best American players on the PGA tour today. One obvious omission was Tiger Woods, the 15 times major winner, who is still in rehab after an awful car crash broke both his legs earlier this year. On the other side were the 12 top European golfers, with players from countries such as England, Ireland, Spain and Norway who joined together to and tried to topple the US team, however unsuscessful.
The Europeans were the title holders, winning the 2018 edition at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France. They did their best to secure a second consecutive victory, but they faced a tough challenge, with the US team favourites, and playing on home soil. Who were the top players who participated in this year’s Ryder Cup? Let’s have a look.
Dustin Johnson was certainly one of them, currently ranked 2nd in the world. He has two major titles to his name, the 2016 U.S. Open and the 2020 Masters. On his day, very few players can challenge Johnson.
Justin Thomas is another formidable player. He only has one major to his name, the 2017 PGA Championship, but his form this year has been incredible.
Other notable inclusions were Jordan Spieth, and Brooks Koepka. Koepka has had injury problems this year, but he still has what it takes to dominate the fairway and the greens when he is playing his best golf.
They have the world’s best golfer in Jon Rahm, a man who has been almost unstoppable in the last 18 months. He picked up U.S. Open earlier this year and came third in the Open Championship.
Rory Mcllroy is a four-time major winner and was ranked as world number one in 2012. After a few tough years, he has picked his form up as of late.
Other top players on the European side are Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter.
It was another great edition of the Ryder Cup, bringing the title this back to the United States.