Golf-Ryder Cup playing format

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Next week's Ryder Cup between hosts the United States and holders Europe will be played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota from Friday to Sunday. Each team has 12 players and a total of 28 matches will take place, culminating with 12 singles on the final day. The first two days will feature a mix of eight foursomes and eight fourball matches, with the order of play determined through agreement by United States captain Davis Love III and his European counterpart Darren Clarke. Foursomes matches involve two-man teams, with each team playing one ball. The players take alternate shots until the hole is completed. The lower of the two scores wins the hole. If the same number of shots on both sides is recorded, the hole is halved. One player will hit the tee shot on odd-numbered holes with his team mate teeing off first on the even-numbered holes. Fourball matches involve two-man teams with each player playing his own ball and completing the hole. The best score of the four wins the hole. In singles matches, the result is decided when one player leads by more holes than there are holes left to play. Team captains submit their order of play before each round to a tournament official. The lists from each captain are then matched, resulting in the pairings. (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Andrew Both)