Dubai: The 42nd Ryder Cup gets under way on Friday as Jim Furyk’s Team US takes on Thomas Bjorn’s Team Europe at Le Golf National in St-Quentin-En-Yvelines, just outside Paris — the first time the event will be held in France. There is much at stake as the Americans are desperate to retain the trophy and win the biennial tournament in Europe for the first in 25 years. The Europeans will be hungry to wrest back the trophy after their embarrassing defeat at Hazeltine, Minnesota, two years back and restore order. The world’s top 10 players will all compete in the clash for the first time, with the tourists’ 12-man team boasting a hefty 11 of the world’s top 17 players out to end a quarter-century of European frustration.

How Europe can win

Simply put, they have home advantage. While this is the first time the event will be played on French soil, the course has played host to the French Open since 1991 and is one of the flagship tournaments of the European Tour. No American as ever won a major event on the course — Julian Suri, Peter Ulihein and Kevin Stadler have come close recently — while the past two winners of the French Open, Alex Noren and Tommy Fleetwood, are members of Team Europe.

Their insights and the fact that all the members of Bjorn’s side know the course inside-out will be priceless, especially if the wind whips up in St-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Coupled with the fact that the US have not won on European soil since 1993, and things look very promising for the home side,

How US can win

Very few of Furyk’s team have played competitive golf at Le National, but their sheer dominance and will to win when it comes to truly global events cannot be matched by their European counterparts. Americans have won 11 of the past 16 majors, 10 of them by current members of Team USA. When you add the old heads of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to the mix, who have 19 major triumphs and 18 Ryder Cup appearances between them, you can see why they are confident of ending their drought.

The rookies

This year sees eight rookies making their bow in the tournament, with five for Europe and three for the Americans.

Team USA’s Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas have been grabbing so many headlines you may be surprised to learn this is their first Ryder Cup. DeChambeau only earned his first PGA Tour victory in the John Deere Classic in July last year but has gone from strength to strength, claiming the Memorial Tournament title in Ohio in June, and the Northern Trust trophy in late August. Oh, and then he followed that up the following week by winning the Dell Technologies Championship in Boston. Thomas had a standout year of his victories in 2017, winning four PGA Tour events, including the PGA Championship, his first major, and also winning the FedEx Cup championship. He was world No. 1 for a short while to boot. Tony Finau is the third US rookie, sneaking in as Furyk’s final pick due to his hot form in the lead up to the France showdown and the weakest player on paper in the US team.

On the European front, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Alex Noren, Thorbjorn Olesen will all be wearing the blue and gold for the first time. While all are there on merit — they have earned enough points to make the team outright rather than rely on a captain’s pick — the one to watch is Tommy Fleetwood, not only did he claim the European Tour Race to Dubai title last season, he also won back-to-back Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship titles and, of course, the French Open at Le National. Rahm, Olesen and Noren all have cool heads under pressure but Hatton’s volatility in front of a raucous crowd may get the better of him.

The veterans

Both captains have put a lot of faith in experience with Bjorn opting to take Sergio García and Ian Poulter in his ranks despite neither playing anywhere near their best this season. While there is a question mark over the selection of Garcia, the 2017 US Masters champion Garcia will be taking part in his ninth Ryder Cup, but has been woeful this year, illustrated when he took a 13 on the 15th hole during the defence of his Masters crown. Poulter, on the other hand, is Mr Ryder Cup. He is the all-time most successful player in the history of the tournament. The five-time cupper holds an impressive 12-4 with two halved career record and is unbeaten in five singles matches. He just knows how to rise to the occasion.

Bjorn can also count on experience major winners Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and this year’s Open winner Francesco Molinari.

Furyk has placed his trust in old hands Mickelson (11 — eleven! — Ryder Cups) and Woods (7). Tiger has clearly played his way into this team and there would have been an outcry if he had been overlooked. Big Phil, despite his glittering career, is more of a hit and hope. Woods, a 14-time major winner who snapped a five-year win drought on Sunday, has been on a Cup-winning team only once in seven tries, never in Europe. Mickelson last enjoyed the feeling in 1993 at The Belfry in England.

“That’s a part that’s missing in their careers,” Furyk said. “It’s not anything I need to mention in the team room. There’s not like a big ‘25’ sitting in there anywhere. They are well aware of it and of how difficult it is to win in Europe. That’s the battle we fight this week.”