Are you ready for Patrick Reed vs. Rory McIlroy II? Maybe Tiger Woods will have something to say about that matchup. Yes, it's time for the Ryder Cup. The United States won in 2016 at Hazeltine and is the heavy favorite, but it hasn't won the Cup on foreign soil since 1993. And Europe hosts this time around, in Paris. The opening ceremony is Thursday (11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET), and play begins Friday, with 28 points at stake. Here's how to watch all the action: FRIDAY Format: Fourball (a.m.) and Foursomes (p.m.) * TV: 2 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET Golf Channel * Online: SATURDAY Format: Fourball (a.m.) and Foursomes (p.m.) * TV: 2-3 a.m. Golf Channel ; 3 a.m. to 1 p.m. NBC * Online: SUNDAY Format: Singles * TV: 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. NBC * Online: The U.S. will need 14 points to retain the Cup. Jim Furyk is the captain for the United States, while Europe is led by Thomas Bjorn. TEAM MEMBERS United States -- Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Bubba Watson and Tiger Woods. Europe -- Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Rory McIlroy, Francesco Molinari, Alex Noren, Thorbjorn Olesen, Ian Poulter, John Rahm, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson. Need to brush up on all things Ryder Cup? Golf Channel has a helpful primer, so get the foursomes and fourballs sorted out and settle in for an epic golf weekend.<doc-sep>You may think that the first few points out of a competition with 28 total points up for grabs do not matter much. That it’s just the first quarter of an NBA game. The teams are feeling each other out, trying to set a pace, and then really start to play in the second half as the minutes dwindle. The Ryder Cup, however, is often the opposite. Golf Channel has cited all week that the winners of 13 of the last 19 Ryder Cups took that first point. Not just the first session, but that very first point. The session of four matches is critical. Losing a session, especially right off the top, is demoralizing and deflating and just keeps making the margin for error smaller in a competition where there’s almost no margins between the very best in the world. So this first session matters more than you’d expect for the overall Cup and the pressure of that first session? It’s at its very highest. Players from all generations and of all accomplishment levels — Hall of Famers to one-time participants — will tell that there is nothing in golf like the pressure you feel on the first tee of the Ryder Cup. The time is now. Here’s why the USA will end its 25-year drought in Europe. It has been 25 years of Ryder Cup misery for American teams heading to away games in Europe. There have been Tiger failures, captain failures, old teams, bad teams, and horrible uniform choices. But this time around in Paris is different. Some have said they couldn’t feel their arms and legs and just subconsciously made a swing to get the ball off the tee. We saw Webb Simpson pop one up to start the Ryder Cup’s first match the last time it was in Europe in 2014. Playing for someone else — a team, a partner, a country — adds a level of suffocating pressure that’s beyond any putt at the Masters. This is what the Ryder Cup veterans tell you time and again. The lineup for the opening session, which will feature the four-ball format (also known as best ball), is loaded with rookies playing in their first Ryder Cup. So they will be thrown into the cauldron of that first tee scene, which is the biggest its ever been for this event with some 12,000 crowded around one tee box alone. There is a rookie in every single pairing that European captain Thomas Bjorn is sending out Friday morning. Alex Noren is the only rookie sitting out the first session and Bryson DeChambeau is the one rookie of the three American first-timers starting on the bench. Here’s your lineup for Friday morning four-ball — all times ET (Paris is six hours ahead) 2:10 a.m.: Brooks Koepka & Tony Finau (USA) vs. Justin Rose & Jon Rahm (EUR) 2:25 a.m.: Dustin Johnson & Rickie Fowler (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy & Thorbjorn Olesen (EUR) 2:40 a.m.: Jordan Spieth & Justin Thomas (USA) vs. Paul Casey & Tyrrell Hatton (EUR) 2:55 a.m.: Patrick Reed & Tiger Woods (USA) vs. Francesco Molinari & Tommy Fleetwood (EUR) It’s a fascinating play by Bjorn, who is keeping two of Europe’s emotional leaders and Ryder Cup legends, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter, on the bench for the critical first session (more reactions to the first session lineup and what it might mean for the afternoon four-ball here). Golf Channel will have the full coverage of the opening day’s double session, going live at 2 a.m. ET on Friday morning. If you’re on the west coast, I think the play is to power through the evening with those first matches starting at 11 p.m. PST. Golf Channel, which falls under the NBC and Comcast umbrella, has become the traditional broadcaster of this thing. We’ll get the usual NBC suspects in Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller, but the Golf Channel side of things will probably feature a lot of Terry Gannon and Nick Faldo up in the booth. This broadcast is not as long as their British Open coverage, which runs some 14.5 hours from the very first tee shot around 1:30 a.m. ET. But it’s still a long ass day for any TV broadcast, going 11 hours across two sessions of matches. Here are your coverage options for the first day: Friday’s Day 1 coverage Television: 2 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET -- Golf Channel Streaming: 2 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET -- Golf Channel simulcast stream Other streaming options FuboTV from 2 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET Ryder Cup App’s “Ryder Cup Live” from 2 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET Radio: 2 a.m. until completion of play -- PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 93/208) Ryder Cup Apps will also have “Live Radio” feature during match play<doc-sep>Luckily, for those who live for this event, Golf Channel and NBC are set to provide nearly 30 hours of live coverage from France on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The only catch is that American fans will have to be up early with the six-hour time difference, but a cup of coffee and a few Patrick Reed explosions before the sun comes up should be a enough of a jolt of energy to keep you glued to the television throughout the day. Set your alarms now folks, because you aren't going to want to miss a second.<doc-sep>
After two years of bragging rights for the United States, the 2018 edition of the Ryder Cup was scheduled to get underway on Friday. This time, however, it'll be hosted by the European squad in Paris after the Americans were finally able to snatch a victory in Minnesota in 2016. The tournament being hosted at the French course Le Golf National means the TV viewing schedule for Americans will involve some odd, very early hours (or late hours, depending on your vibe). But it should be worth the lack of sleep. There's nothing quite like the Ryder Cup, which temporarily brings together guys used to fighting tooth and nail with one another on the PGA Tour. As Newsweek's Dan Cancian wrote, big-name, marquee players such as Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and, yes, a resurgent Tiger (freaking!) Woods will play key roles in determining the outcome this weekend. Also key for Team USA will be World No. 3 Brooks Koepka, who won two majors in 2018 and—at his best—is nearly unbeatable. "I think any time you can play an important role in winning a Ryder Cup, I think that's what everybody wants," he said at a press conference, via the tournament's website. "Everybody wants that putt to win the Ryder Cup or to win your match or whatever the case might be, or on the sideline cheering the guys on. You've got to be a good team-mate and you've got to be ready for anything this week. You don't know what's going to come at you but I'm excited. I'm excited for the role, a little different role than I've had in the last one and we're looking forward to it. I'm ready to get started." Luckily for Koepka—and all of us looking forward to watching—things are set to get started quite soon. Friday and Saturday will bring the fourball/foursome matches, while Sunday will be dedicated to singles. Here are all of the details for how to watch, where to watch and when you'll be able to see replays if waking up at the crack of dawn isn't your style: Dates: Friday, September 28 through Sunday, September 30. Friday TV schedule: Golf Channel will have live coverage from 2 a.m. ET through 1 p.m. ET. It will then air a replay that'll run from 8 p.m. ET through midnight. Friday live stream: You can watch live online at RyderCup.com from 2 a.m. ET through 1 p.m. ET. Saturday TV schedule: Golf Channel will have the super-early coverage from 2 a.m. ET through 3 a.m. ET. After that, it will switch to NBC from 3 a.m. ET through 1 p.m. ET. There will be a replay on NBC from 1 p.m. ET through 6 p.m. ET as well as from 8 p.m. ET through midnight on Golf Channel. Saturday live stream: You can watch live online at RyderCup.com from 3 a.m. ET through 1 p.m. ET. Sunday TV schedule: The final day will all be on NBC, from 6 a.m. ET through 1 p.m. ET. Golf Channel, however, will air the replay from 8 p.m. ET through midnight. Sunday live stream: You can watch live online at RyderCup.com from 6 a.m. ET through 1 p.m. ET.