The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)

FACTS FIGURES

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Date: Sept. 24-26

The course: Built in 1998 by the late Pete Dye, Whistling Straits emulates a cliffside links course with two miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, bluffs, sand dunes and natural fescue lining the fairways. It has hosted the PGA Championsh­ip three times, most recently in 2015.

Format: Four matches of fourballs (better ball) and foursomes (alternate shot) on Friday and Saturday and 12 singles matches on Sunday.

Points: Europe needs 14 points to retain the cup. The United States needs 14½ points to win the cup.

All-time series: United States leads 26-14-2

US vs. Europe series (from 1979): Europe leads, 11-8-1

Last time: Europe won on home soil for the sixth straight time, losing only the opening session. The result was 17½-10½, and the difference was the captain’s picks. Europe’s four picks combined to go 9-4-1. The U.S. picks were 2-100 as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau combined to go 0-9-0.

Captains: Padraig Harrington (Europe), Steve Stricker (United States)

European roster: Paul Casey, Matt Fitzpatric­k, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, Jon Rahm, Lee Westwood, Bernd Wiesberger.

U.S. roster: Daniel Berger, Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Tony Finau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas.

Tale of the tape: Europe’s average world ranking is 30. USA’s average ranking is 9.

Key statistic: Europe’s team has combined to play in 168 matches at the Ryder Cup compared with 49 matches for the American players.

Noteworthy: The Americans have the most Ryder Cup rookies (6) since 2008 and its youngest team ever with an average age of 29.

Quoteworth­y: “If we don’t win the Ryder Cup, it’s not a good Ryder Cup for me.” — Sergio Garcia, who has won more points than anyone in Ryder Cup history.

Television: Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m (Golf Channel); Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. (Golf Channel), 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, Noon to 6 p.m. (NBC)

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