After three long years, the wait for another Ryder Cup ends this week as the United States and Europe take to the fairways and greens of Whistling Straits.
Europe are the holders but the USA start as favourites for many observers, with home advantage and a formidable-looking team.
There will be shocks along the way and there will be some expected stars of the show who end up taking a back seat as unlikely heroes emerge.
Captains Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington will have their own ideas of who might be best placed to make a telling impression.
Here, Stats Perform looks at four players who could make a huge impact across the weekend in Wisconsin.
UNITED STATES: Super Spieth ready to show his teeth
Jordan Spieth has been a resurgent force this year, finishing second at the Open Championship and in a tie for third at the Masters, while at the other two majors he finished a respectable 19th and 30th.
The American also ended a four-year wait for a victory on the PGA Tour with a sweet win in his home state at the Texas Open in April and is primed to cap a fine year with a strong Ryder Cup.
Spieth has mentioned in the build-up that he loves the course set-up at Whistling Straits, which he feels provides scoring opportunities on almost every hole.
The 28-year-old also referenced his previous Ryder Cup success. He has collected eight points from a possible 11 in fourballs/foursomes, a 73 per cent scoring rate. Only Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus have a better ratio among USA players in the team format.
UNITED STATES: Nice guy Finau just the man for Stricker's superstars
American teams in the past have been accused of…well…not exactly getting along. Having the ultimate good guy in the team is sure to boost morale and Tony Finau certainly fits that mould.
But make no mistake, Finau is a guy with real pedigree – even if sometimes he hasn't quite been able to convert that into wins (his triumph at the Northern Trust last month was only his second PGA Tour title and first in five years).
On his Ryder Cup debut, he was one of few bright notes for Team USA, with Finau winning two of his three matches – including a singles win over the otherwise unflappable Tommy Fleetwood, setting the second-best points ratio (66.7 per cent) in the American team after Justin Thomas (80 per cent, four points out of a possible five).
Moreover, at the 2015 US PGA Championship, Finau finished 10th having shot four sub-par rounds at Whistling Straits. Finau is the sort of character who can really flourish at a Ryder Cup, particularly with home support behind him.
EUROPE: Europe eye trophy Rahm raid
Jon Rahm is the man for the big occasion. He is the only player to have secured a top-10 finish at all four majors this year, while he is also Europe's most recent victor at one of the leading events, having won the U.S. Open.
The world number one's Ryder Cup debut did not go entirely to plan in 2018, as he won only one of his three matches, but that triumph was in a singles match-up with Tiger Woods – only Tiger's second loss in the format.
Now established at the forefront of the sport, Rahm will expect to be the man to lead Europe to glory with an improved all-round showing, justifying his status as the bookmakers' favourite to be the leading points scorer at Whistling Straits.
EUROPE: Viktor sounds like a winner
Belgium's Thomas Pieters was the top points scorer five years ago at Hazeltine, scoring four points but ending on the losing side. With Norway's Viktor Hovland relishing his debut on the team, could there be another surprise leader on the points board?
Hovland played college golf for Oklahoma State and has been a familiar figure on the PGA Tour, so playing in America is second nature. He was low amateur at the Masters and U.S. Open in 2019, won the U.S. Amateur, and has come of age since, jumping to a career-high world ranking of number 10 in August.
Eight top-10 finishes and just one missed cut since the turn of the year show what he brings, and that level of consistent play is bound to appeal to captain Harrington.
"I'd like to think I have some fans out there that maybe won't necessarily boo against us," Hovland said this week. "But if they do end up doing that, that's what they're going to do. We're still going to play golf, and if they do end up doing that, that means we're doing something good."
Foden: De Bruyne the best in the Premier League
Phil Foden hailed Manchester City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne as the Premier League's best player after the pair both netted in the 4-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
De Bruyne opened the scoring in Thursday's contest at Amex Stadium before Foden took over with a couple of goals of his own before half-time.
Julian Alvarez rounded off the scoring just after the hour in a one-sided contest as an Erling Haaland-less City moved to within a point of leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.
Belgium international De Bruyne now has four goals and six assists in just 13 league appearances for City this season.
Speaking to Sky Sports News after the win over Brighton, Foden said: "I think when he is at it, he is the best player in the Premier League."
Foden's first goal came via a deflected free-kick that he himself won, although replays showed he slipped rather than being fouled.
The England international doubled his personal tally with a composed finish after Brighton were caught in possession at the back.
Asked about playing more centrally, Foden said: "I have always said that I see myself there. This year I have moved inside and it has helped me massively.
"I enjoy it in the middle. It's where I want to be. At the moment, I am just enjoying my football and playing with freedom."
De Bruyne had earlier opened the scoring with a brilliant opener - his first headed goal for City in the Premier League - as City made it 30 games unbeaten in normal time across all competitions.
Alvarez then went on to round off the scoring in a game that not only saw the reigning champions close the gap on Arsenal, but also narrow the goal difference margin to eight.
"It was a good game," De Bruyne said. "I think we played really good in the first half and every game is a lot of pressure. All we can do is prepare as we did today and win the game that is in front of us.
"We just want to win game-by-game and push for the title. We don't get ahead of ourselves. Now the next game is coming quickly. Try to recover and we go again."
Kyle Walker assisted the De Bruyne and Alvarez goals - the first time the defender has set up two goals in a single Premier League game in what was his 390th appearance in the competition.
Reflecting on his rare headed goal, De Bruyne said: "It doesn't happen too much. Kyle gave a good cross and I think the only way I could reach it is by jumping to it. I will take it but it's not something I am good at."
City have rather ominously won four Premier League games in a row and travel to strugglers Nottingham Forest next up at the weekend, knowing victory in their remaining five games will secure an unprecedented fourth straight title.
"I trust my team. All respect to Liverpool and Arsenal, they are amazing," De Bruyne added. "Arsenal are doing what they need to do and we are also needing to do it. Work hard and be humble enough to keep pushing."
Frazsiers Whip to represent Jamaica in inaugural Concacaf Women's Champions Cup
As expected, Frazsiers Whip will be Jamaica’s representative in the inaugural Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup, a new annual tournament that includes the best clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean and crowns the region’s women’s club champion.
The tournament is also the sole path through which clubs in Concacaf can qualify for the new FIFA Women’s Club World Cup, which FIFA has committed to launching in the near future.
By virtue of winning the 2022/23 Jamaica Women’s Premier League, Frazsiers Whip booked their spot for the first edition of the competition, which will feature 11 clubs from seven Member Associations.
The other confirmed participants are Canada’s 2023 League One Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship winners Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Costa Rica’s LD Alajuelense, Mexico’s Tigres UANL Femenil, as well as the United States trio of Gotham FC, San Diego Wave FC and Portland Thorns FC.
El Salvador and Panama are yet to confirm their representatives for their solitary spots, while Mexico’s two other representatives will be known at the conclusion of the Liga MX Clausura.
Interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert, who guided Frazsiers Whip to league honours, welcomed the move by Concacaf, which he believes will offer some exposure for local players, despite the gulf in class between other leagues around the region and Jamaica's Women's League.
"It's important for local football, however, I don't think any of our local teams will be able to match up with the teams from Mexico or United States. Those clubs are professional clubs playing in a fully professional leagues, while ours is nowhere close to their standard," Gilbert told SportsMax.TV in a recent interview.
"But it is good, it is more football and more exposure for our local players. At the same time, I think it sends a signal of how important it is for us to look at what we are doing in terms of resources and surfaces for our local teams. So, it is good move by Concacaf, and I think it's for us now here in Jamaica to look at what we are doing and try to improve the quality of our league," he added.
The official draw for the tournament is scheduled for June 6.
Action in the Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup is expected to get underway in August, with a Preliminary Round, followed by Group and Knockout Stage play. The Preliminary Round Play-in will be a single-leg match between two clubs, with the winner advancing to the Group Stage.
The Group Stage will feature 10 clubs divided into two groups of five clubs each. Each club will play every club in its group once, for a total of four matches per club (two at home and two away). At the conclusion of Group Stage play, the group winners and runners-up (four clubs) will progress to the competition’s final four.
The semifinals, third-place encounter, and final, where the first-ever Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup winners will be crowned, will be centralized in a venue to be announced.
Hughes targets Olympic glory; expects Racers Grand Prix to offer taste of potential Paris test
Winning a first global individual medal at last year’s World Championships whetted Zharnel Hughes’s appetite for more success, and so it comes as no surprise that the Anguillan-born Great Britain sprint sensation is strongly optimistic about clinching a medal at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
In fact, if Hughes’s confidence to top his performances from last year is anything to go by, then he could very well accomplish the feat, provided he maintains a clean bill of health throughout the season.
During last year’s electrifying campaign, which ended with his World Championships bronze in the men’s 100m final, Hughes broke Olympic champion Linford Christie’s 100m British national record when he clocked a personal best 9.83 seconds at the New York Grand Prix, in June.
A month later, at the UK Athletics Championship, Hughes ran a brisk 19.77s, which is faster than John Regis’s national 200m record, but the time was wind-aided and, as such, was recognised as a record. However, Hughes, with his superb form, inevitably established a new record when he clocked a wind-legal 19.73s at the London Diamond League.
With that in mind, coupled with his relentless work ethic and resolute pursuit of excellence, Hughes is poised to make another significant impact on the world stage this year. Whether or not it will be an Olympic gold medal triumph is left to be seen.
“It's the Olympic year, so obviously you want to better what you did last year. I'm happy with how last year turned out for me, and this year is very much more exciting. I'm preparing myself nicely. I'm feeling fit and ready to go. Obviously as an athlete, you want to lower your personal best every year, but unfortunately, sometimes it doesn't work out like that. But I'm definitely aiming to lower my personal best both in the 100m and 200m,” Hughes declared.
“I'm in good shape and I’m excited. I've definitely counted myself as one of them (athletes) to be reckoned with (for an Olympic gold medal). I'm never going to count myself out now because you've seen what happened last year, and I'm excited to top my performance from last year,” he added.
Though he 48.25s in a 400m run in February, followed by a 20.40s-clocking in March, the 28-year-old pointed out that he is yet to really hit top gear in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games, but is aiming to do so at the sixth edition of the Racers Grand Prix, on June 1, at Jamaica's National Stadium.
At the Racers Grand Prix, Hughes will line up alongside Racers Track Club teammate Oblique Seville and American World champion Noah Lyles in the 100m, which he considers a good prelude for what could come at the Paris Games.
“I'm looking forward to it, I was listening for who was going to be there; Oblique and I have been training pretty good and I know both of us representing coach Glen Mills, will be bringing it on the day. So, I look forward to who's in the field, especially with Lyles being there,” Hughes said.
“This race is to get you prepared for what's to come later in the summer. So, to have great competition like that at the Racers Grand Prix is just a great indicator to see where we're at, and what we can tweak going into our national trials, because my trials will be the latter part of June. So, for me, I'm looking forward to this race and the following week I'll have the European Championships as well. So, it'll be a great indicator for me,” he shared.
Working tirelessly under the watchful eyes of decorated coach Mills, Hughes, a four-time European Champion, has upped the ante in the gym to improve his strength, as he is leaving no stone unturned in his quest for Olympic glory.
“My training has been going tremendously well. I'm excited to open up properly (at Racers Grand Prix) because my first race wasn't so good because I had a little niggle, but I've overcome that now and I'm very excited to see what's there. I've worked on my strength a lot, physically, I'm a lot stronger and I just want to keep on top of my mental health as well,” Hughes revealed.
“Those things are very crucial going into an Olympic year, so you have to be very focused. You have to ensure that your body is properly fit as well in order to go there to give the best that you're looking for. So, I'm pretty sharp on keeping my mental focus up and ensuring that I'm properly recovered,” he ended.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
