THE OVERALL GAME FORMAT
The ‘Amigos Ryder Cup’ format is based around the three competition formats used over the official Ryder Cup 3 day event but condensed into a single 18 hole competition. The match will consist of 12 ‘matchplay style’ contests, each involving 2 European Team players against 2 American team players. Each contest will consist of:

• 6 holes of ‘4-ball betterball’ matchplay,

• 6 holes of ‘Foursomes’ matchplay,

• 6 holes of ‘singles’ matchplay.

 

A more detailed explanation of how each format variant is played and how the handicaps are defined is provided below:

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4-BALL BETTERBALL MATCH PLAY
This is played over holes 1-6 with the 2 European players competing directly against the 2 American players whereby the best individual score, after handicap allowance, of the two European team members is recorded as the European team’s score for that hole – and vice-versa for the American team.

The best score (incl full handicap allowance) on hole 1 for the European team will be compared with the best score on hole 1 for the American team. If the European team’s score is better than the American team’s score then Europe record a WIN for that hole (and vice versa). If both team’s scores are identical then that hole is declared HALVED. The above scoring is repeated for the 2nd / 3rd / 4th / 5th & 6th holes. After the 6th hole, the total number of WINs for each team is calculated and the team with more WINs over the full 6 holes is declared the winner and awarded ONE RYDER CUP POINT. In the event of both teams having the same number of WINs, each team will be awarded 1/2 RYDER CUP POINT.

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Handicap Allowance = 85% handicap allocated but in this format the lower handicap player plays off ‘scratch’ and the higher handicap players all play off a handicap equivalent to the difference between the higher and lower players handicap (e.g. European Player 1 = 14 hcp & American Player 1 = 21 hcp therefore the American player plays off a handicap of 7 (i.e. 21-14)). The same calculation model is applied to European Player 2 & American Player 2. The higher handicap players receive shots on all holes with stroke indexes lower or equal to their adjusted handicap whilst the lower handicap player receives ZERO shots.

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FOURSOMES MATCHPLAY
This is played over holes 7-12 and the 2 European players compete directly against the 2 American players in a format whereby the team players share a single golf ball, taking alternate shots of the single ball until the hole is completed. On hole 7, only player 1 hits a tee shot and player 2 takes the second shot from the location that player 1 managed to get the ball. Player 1 then plays the third shot from wherever that ball then comes to rest. This continues until the hole is completed. On hole 8 the above is repeated but Player 2 must tee-off. Player 1 tees off on holes 9 & 11 and Player 2 tees off on holes 10 & 12.

If Player 1 hits a ball ‘Out of Bounds’ or ‘Loses’ the ball, then the following shot must be played by Player 2 (not replayed by player 1), with the appropriate penalty. In the event of a team deciding to play a ‘Provisional’ ball it must be played by the partner of the person that hit the first ball and NOT by the player that potentially lost the first ball.

The best score (incl handicap allowance) on hole 7 for the European team will be compared with the best score on hole 7 for the American team. If the European team’s score is better than the American team’s score, then Europe record a WIN for that hole (and vice versa). If both team’s scores are identical then that hole is declared HALVED. The above scoring is repeated for the 8th / 9th / 10th / 11th & 12th holes. After the 12th hole, the total number of WINs for each team is calculated and the team with more WINs over the full 6 holes is declared the winner and awarded ONE RYDER CUP POINT. In the event of both teams having the same number of WINs, each team will be awarded 1/2 RYDER CUP POINT.

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Handicap Allowance = ‘Hole-by-hole’ handicap based on 50% of combined team players handicaps (e.g European Player 1 = 12 hcp & European Player 2 = 22 hcp then the European team will play holes 7-12 with a handicap of 17 (i.e 12+22 divided by 2). Each team receives shots on all holes with a stroke index lower or equal to their handicap.

 

INDIVIDUAL MATCHPLAY
This is played over holes 13-18 and the European players compete directly against the American players in a format whereby European player 1 will play ‘head-to-head’ against American player 1 whilst European player 2 will play ‘head-to-head’ against American player 2. Each ‘head-to-head’ is completely discrete and RYDER CUP POINTS will be awarded for both ‘head-to-head’ games within a fourball.

The European team Player 1 score (incl handicap allowance) on hole 13 will be compared with the American team player 1 score (incl handicap allowance) on hole 13. If the European score is better than the American score, then Europe record a WIN for that hole (and vice versa). If both players’ scores are identical then that hole is declared HALVED. The identical process is applied to Player 2 scores on the same hole. The above scoring is repeated for the 14th / 15th / 16th / 17th & 18th holes. After the 18th hole, the total number of WINs for each ‘Player 1’ is calculated and the player with more WINs over the full 6 holes is declared the winner and awarded ONE RYDER CUP POINT. In the event of both teams having the same number of WINs, each team will be awarded 1/2 RYDER CUP POINT. The identical scoring is applied to the ‘Player 2’ matches and therefore it is possible for a specific European or American pairing to record between 0 and 2 RYDER CUP POINTS from these individual matchplay games.

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Handicap Allowance = 100% handicap allocated but in this format the lower handicap player plays off ‘scratch’ and the higher handicap player plays of a handicap equivalent to the difference between the higher and lower players handicap (e.g. European Player 1 = 14 hcp & American Player 1 = 21 hcp therefore the American player plays off a handicap of 7 (i.e. 21-14)). The higher handicap player receives a shot on all holes with stroke indexes lower or equal to their adjusted handicap whilst the lower handicap player receives ZERO shots.