Ryder Cup appears not to be on course
Postponement speculation continues to cloud event
HAVEN – On a quiet Tuesday morning, Whistling Straits did not exactly look like it would be hosting the world's premier team golf event, the Ryder Cup, in three months' time.
The panoramic views of Lake Michigan off the 10th tee box and 18th tee box remained unobscured by the large, temporary structures often associated with golf tournaments like grandstands and chalets.
No framing for the planned grand spectator entrance, merchandise tents or fan-experience pavilions were visible from the access points off Lakeshore Road outside the golf course.
During a radio appearance with his father-in-law, Dennis Tiziani, in early June, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker said the buildup on the course would have to take place later in the month, and that clearly had not begun.
On Friday, a Ryder Cup spokesman told the Journal Sentinel that “the 2020 Ryder Cup remains as scheduled, September 22-27, at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The PGA of America continues to closely follow the guidance of federal, state, and local public health authorities. The safety and wellbeing of all is our highest priority.”
A request for an update on the logistics of construction on site was not immediately returned.
The fate of the Ryder Cup has been in doubt since the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe, leading to the cancellation or postponements of many sporting events and large outdoor events, like Milwaukee's Summerfest.
In mid-March, The London Telegraph reported the event would be postponed, which drew a rebuke from the PGA of America.
Then on Monday, The Guardian newspaper in England reported the
event would be postponed until 2021. A Ryder Cup spokesman said there would be no comment on that report.
While there remain plenty of public safety hurdles to overcome to host the event in September as scheduled – the PGA of America announced its major championship will be played without fans in San Francisco on Aug. 6-9 – there are many scheduling obstacles in the path of holding the Ryder Cup in 2021, namely the rescheduled Olympic Games (July 23-Aug. 8 in Tokyo) and the PGA Tour’s President’s Cup (Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in North Carolina).
The Ryder Cup is a biennial team event held by the PGA of America that features teams from the United States and Europe, with the U.S. leading the series 26-14-2 all-time.
The U.S. has tweaked its team selection formula over the years, and Stricker was originally going to be given four captain’s picks to round out his 12-man roster. But because of the shortened PGA Tour season due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was announced June 10 that he can make six captain’s picks.
The reason behind altering the U.S. team selection strategy is largely because Europe has been dominating the competition recently. The team format was changed in 1979 to include all continental Europe in one team as opposed to only Great Britain and Ireland. Since then, Europe is 11-8-1. It has won outright or retained the Cup with a tie in 12 of the past 17 competitions and four of the past five.
The team part of the competition includes foursomes and fourballs on Friday and Saturday, followed by head-to-head singles matches on the final day. The winner of the match scores one point for their team, with a total of 28 points able to be earned. Tied matches are worth a half-point.
The competition was halted from 1939-45 due to World War II and was postponed in 2001 following the terrorist attack on New York City on Sept. 11.