The Ryder Cup takes place this week at the Gleneagles Resort in Scotland.  It is the every two year event between Europe and the United States for golf and it attracts hordes of passionate fans.  The Europeans are the defending champions, having won in America the last time and now they are defending in Scotland and are favourites to win.  I generally support the United States, because I am more familiar with their golfers from the PGA Tour, which I prefer watching over the European tour because more of the best players in the world play the PGA Tour, including the best European players.  Strangely enough, many of the players that will be representing the European team actually live in the United States most of the year, largely in Florida, included Henrick Stenson, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, etc.  

I played the exact course that they will be playing when I went to Scotland in July, and it is certainly going to look dramatic on television and there are some fairly tricky holes because if you either hit the ball too far or too short disaster awaits.  I was having one of the rounds of my life there, until about the last three holes, when I double-bogeyed everything to end up with an 81 but I was on track for a score of about 75 before those last three holes.  The resort is about an hour’s drive from St Andrews, considered the home of golf and it has a few other golf courses as well, so it is extremely popular with tourists, especially American tourists, and it is extremely expensive to stay at.  The golfers are really going to be ensconced in a luxury environment, playing a course which, after a month of no play on it, is going to be in an immaculate condition and is going to make for excellent viewing and I am just going to hope that the United States team can upset the Europeans although based on the betting they are very unlikely to do so!