Olazábal: “Seve, we miss you very much”.

José Mari Olazábal: “The Americans are playing very well and we need to start winning points as soon as possible. Our guys have to play very, very well, it’s going to be very close. They will have the public on their side and the course is prepared the way they like it, so we have to make a lot of birdies and score points.

I have asked the boys to give their all, to play with passion and heart.

I will be close to the players but not glued to them; the 12 are great competitors and they know what to do, they know their game better than I do. I will be close if they need my advice but I will never impose it on them.

It’s always difficult to leave four on the bench, especially having 12 great players, but I wish all the problems came from there.”

Davis Love III: “I haven’t had time to analyze the European pairings yet. I may be a little surprised by the order of the matches but, to tell you the truth, we haven’t really thought about what strategy they would use but who we would leave on the bench. To have to tell Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson that they wouldn’t play the Foursomes seems surreal; it shows the greatness of this team”.

Sergio García: “We have been drawn against two very good players and I have no doubt that it will be a tight match, although, on the other hand, they are players who don’t always hit it straight. We’ll try to concentrate on our own game and hopefully get the point. We’re looking forward to getting started.

Seve Ballesteros, remembered during the inauguration ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 39th edition of the Ryder Cup, with Justin Timberlake as master of ceremonies, has been especially emotional for José Mari Olazábal. Phil Weaver, President of the PGA of Europe was the first to remember the figure of Ballesteros: “Seve had a huge influence on the Ryder Cup. He played from the heart”.

Olazábal was moved to tears when he dedicated part of his speech to Seve Ballesteros: “I am not forgetting my great friend Seve Ballesteros. He was a very special person who knew how to reflect like no one else the values of the Ryder Cup: never give up and always be prepared for any adversity. He transmitted to me the passion he put into everything. Seve, we miss you very much.

Ryder Cup diary. Wednesday 26th, gala dinner.

After lunch, the players’ wives and girlfriends have hairdressing and dressmaking sessions at their disposal. The two teams, European and American, have dinner with the officials of each delegation and at 10:30 p.m. they go to the Akoo Theatre to be introduced to the thousands of fans gathered there.

Prior to the arrival of both teams there is a performance by comedian George Lopez and a typical Chicago brass band.

The mayor of Chicago welcomes everyone and then Justin Timberlake, ambassador of the U.S. team, serves as master of ceremonies, introducing one by one the captains and their 24 players; they enter through a raised platform, greet and as they descend the stairs a video of their best performances is projected. Wives and girlfriends come directly to the stage, joining them and Timberlake, who gives them a short interview.

Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Tiger Woods are the most applauded. The Americans take the opportunity to ask for the support of all the fans, and Francesco Molinari does the same with the very large Italian colony living in Chicago. Timberlake asks Poulter what extra motivation the Ryder Cup represents for him, to which the Englishman, one of the most feared under the Match-Play modality, answers with the utmost naturalness: “To kill those 12 in front of me”.

Foursomes First Day

07:20h – McIllroy/McDowell V Furyk/Snedeker

07:35h – Donald/Garcia V Mickelson/Bradley

07:50h – Westwood/Molinari V Dufner/Z. Johnson

08:05h – Poulter/Rose V Stricker/Woods

Ryder Cup figures

1 – First time the Ryder Cup is played in Illinois

1 – European team debutant: Nicolas Colsaerts

4 – Debutants in Team USA: Bradley, Dufner, Simpson and Snedeker

0 – None of the other 8 U.S. players have won a Ryder Cup.

8 – European players have been members of the winning team at least once.

8 – Consecutive editions played by Lee Westwood, a record for this European team.

11- Consecutive editions from 1977 to 1997 Nick Faldo has played a record-holding game

9 – Consecutive editions played by Phil Mickelson holding the record among all American players since 1927.

15 – Fourballs Matches Mickelson has played, also holding this record

34 – Matches played by Mickelson in the 9 editions

37 – The record number of games played is held by Billy Casper.

46 – The total number of matches played in the Ryder Cup by any player of both teams, held by Nick Faldo.

2 – Tiger Woods’ victories in two US PGA tournaments held here in Medinah (1999-2006)

4 – Matches are played in each of the Friday and Saturday sessions, in Fourballs and Foursomes.

9 – Top 10 in the world compete in the Ryder Cup 2012

12 – Individual matches will take place on Sunday

14 – Europe needs points to retain the Ryder Cup

14 ½ – Points needed by the United States to win the Ryder Cup

23 – Captains have had the European team including José Mari Olazábal

27 – Captains have led the U.S. team including Davis Love III

28 – Points at stake in the Ryder Cup

85 – The Ryder Cup has been held 39 times since the first edition in 1927.

United States: Captain Davis Love III

Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Steve Stricker, Bubba Watson and Tiger Woods.

Vice Captains: Fred Couples, Mike Hulbert, Jeff Sluman and Scott Verplank.

Europe: Captain José Mari Olazábal

Nicolas Colsaerts, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer, Paul Lawrie, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Francesco Molinari, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood.

Vice Captains: Thomas Björn, Darren Clarke, Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Paul McGinley.