SB Nation’s 2016 Ryder Cup Preview

This is Team USA's most important Ryder Cup ever

The USA might try to downplay the importance of the instant opportunity at hand in Minnesota this week. They might tell you this is just the start of an entirely new system, the first building block. But after 20 years of butt-kickings and the embarrassing endings of the last two editions, the time is now and this is the USA’s most important Ryder Cup ever. Here’s a Ryder Cup pep talk for the downtrodden red, white, and blue.

The Ryder Cup captains have a trivia battle over their teams, Caddyshack, and more

The Ryder Cup is the most intense event in golf. Every player who has played in it will tell you that there's no pressure, not even in a major championship, that compares to the pressure of the Ryder Cup. The captains do not actually have to make a putt or grip a club under these circumstances, so we decided to put them through the ringer with a trivia test. Where was the first Cup? How many stripes are on the American flag? C'mon, you have to get that one, Davis Love.

2016 Ryder Cup picks and predictions: Can Team USA avoid a record losing streak?

There's always a favorite in the Ryder Cup, and it's often the United States with all their power at the top and world rankings stars. The USA is the favorite again this year, but as we've seen so many times, that means very little in the outcome of an event that the Europeans have come to own. The SB Nation golf staff examines the week ahead in Minnesota.

The Ryder Cup is for match play villains

The Ryder Cup isn’t for the mild-mannered. In a sport where even-keeled, sportsmanlike stars often reign, some of the greatest stars of the competition have often been neurotic, combustable types without major championship titles. Two of those — Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed — could be the key to American or European victories this week.

How a Ryder Cup captain can influence the matches and fail his team

There's decades of debate on just how much a captain can influence the outcome of a Ryder Cup. You can be a really great captain or a really, really bad captain and not have it show up at the matches. Sometimes it does! Two recent American captains pThere's decades of debate on just how much a captain can influence the outcome of a Ryder Cup. You can be a really great captain or a really bad captain and not have it show up at the matches. Sometimes it does! Two recent American captains provide examples of different styles and methods that both yielded a crushing defeat. Sometimes you're bad, and sometimes you just push the wrong button.

In an era of European dominance, Davis Love tries to snap U.S. Ryder Cup losing streak

They may be playing at home, but the pressure is on the Americans to avoid an unprecedented fourth straight Ryder Cup loss. There have been many diagnoses for what ails the American side. Are they overthinking it? Are they too loose? Do they hate each other? Now we supposedly have an entirely new approach under the repeat captaincy of Davis Love III. Here are some of the angles that the USA is playing this week.

10 reasons why the Ryder Cup is the best event in golf

Forget Augusta and all the majors, the Ryder Cup is the best event in golf.

A Ryder Cup grab bag of forgotten names and incomprehensible facts

There is so much anticipation for the Ryder Cup. We have to wait two years for the next event, a buildup that is unlike any other crescendo in golf. But once it happens, we can forget quickly the who, how, and what of how it all went down. Who is Pierre Fulke and why does he have something on Tiger Woods at the Ryder Cup? Here are some of the forgotten names and hard-to-believe trends over the years at the Ryder Cup.

Ryder Cup captains explain the stakes and set the scene for 2016 at Hazeltine

Why is the Ryder Cup the most anticipated golf event every two years? What makes it so different from every other week in the game? This is the most unique setting in golf, as the best in the world play under a completely new format, rules, and team competition. It's the one week of the year that they play as a group, and head-to-head against a direct opponent. The two captains for 2016 explain how the Ryder Cup works in this background primer.

EditorBrendan Porath

DeveloperGraham MacAree, Yuri Victor

CopyeditorCatherine Slonksnis