At a glance

MEDINAH, Ill. — A quick look at the Ryder Cup:

FORMAT Play begins this morning with four matches of foursomes (alternate shot). There will be four more matches of fourballs (better ball) in the afternoon and four matches of each Saturday. The cup will be decided Sunday with 12 singles matches.

OFF FIRST World No. 1 Rory McIlroy and countryman Graeme McDowell will be first off the tee today against U.S. players Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker.

COURSE Medinah Country Club, completed in 1928 and originally designed for women members. It has been redesigned four times since, with Rees Jones making additional tweaks for the Ryder Cup. At 7,658 yards, it will be the longest ever for a Ryder Cup.

POINTS Europe needs 14 points to retain the cup it won two years ago in Wales. The United States needs 14 1/2 points to win the cup. SERIES United States leads 25-11-2.

KEY STATISTIC Sergio Garcia has not lost in nine foursomes matches. He is paired with Luke Donald against Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in the opening matches.

NOTEWORTHY The last time Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker played foursomes together, they lost 6 and 5 to Luke Donald and Lee Westwood. They are paired in the opening matches again against Ian Poulter and Justin Rose.

TV (all times Central): Today, 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., ESPN. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., NBC. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., NBC.

— The Associated Press