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The 39th Ryder Cup matches are set to take place this weekend at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill. The host United States team is looking to regain possession of the Cup, which is currently held by Europe after its 14.5-13.5 victory in 2010.
The world's top talent will be on display beginning on Friday, as top-ranked Rory McIlroy leads the European team, while No. 2-ranked Tiger Woods heads the American squad. Davis Love III (USA) and Jose Maria Olazabal (Europe) have been designated as the non-playing captains for each team.
The United States led by two points after the first two sessions during the last Ryder Cup event, but were undone in Session 3, getting outscored 5.5 to .5. That proved to be the turning point, as the Americans were unable to climb back on top in the final day, despite outscoring the Europeans by two points in Session 4. Since the event went to the current format in 1979, Europe has won nine out of the 16 meetings.
Two players will return to the state in which they attended college, as Northwestern product Luke Donald makes his fourth Ryder Cup appearance for Europe, while Illinois alum Steve Stricker will represent the United States for the third time.
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