A look at the ‘free’ food being offered at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black
USA TODAY Sports’ Chris Bumbaca is on site at the 2025 Ryder Cup and samples the ‘free’ food being offered to all guests.
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Match play in golf focuses on winning individual holes rather than the total number of strokes.A score like “5&4” means a team was up five holes with only four left to play, ending the match.The term “dormie” applies when a player or team is ahead by the same number of holes remaining, guaranteeing at least a tie.
If you know that birdies don’t only live in trees and a wedge isn’t just a fashionable shoe, your golf vocabulary is likely on par with your neighbors.
And while casual golfers might be more familiar with snowmen than eagles, there’s Little Red Book’s worth of golf terms to digest. With the 2025 Ryder Cup continuing through Sunday, Sept. 28 at Bethpage Black Golf Course on Long Island, New York, here’s a quick guide of match-play terms understand this weekend:
What’s the difference between match play and stroke play?
If you’ve ever watched a PGA Tour event, you’re familiar with stroke play. Basically, the golfer who completes the course by taking the fewest swings (strokes) wins. There’s a cumulative effect to scoring in that system, meaning that the eight (also called a snowman) carded on the first par-5 is going to haunt a golfer through the rest of the competition.
Match play, however, is all about winning individual holes. Whoever completes the hole in the fewest swings wins it, and a corresponding point. Whoever wins the most holes during the round wins the match.
That’s where unique language comes in, because it’s possible for a dominant player or team to win a match without playing all 18 holes. Here’s the meaning behind a few terms you’ll hear while watching the United States take on Europe this weekend at the Ryder Cup.
What do 5&4 and 4&3 mean in Ryder Cup golf?
The European team of Rorry McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood blitzed their U.S. competition in the Friday, Sept. 26, first round, topping Collin Morikawa and Harris English of the U.S. 5&4.
But what does that mean?
Through 14 holes, McIlroy and Fleetwood had won six holes, while the U.S. team claimed one. The term 5&4 means the European team was up five holes with only four remaining, meaning the U.S. squad had no chance of winning. At that point, it was game over, point Team Europe.
It was similar for Team Europe’s Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who won 4&3, topping U.S. golfers Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas with three holes to go.
What about 2-up? That’s how Schauffele and Cantlay won
The lone bright spot for the U.S. team in the first round was the play of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, who won “2 up” by claiming both the 17th and 18th holes in a match that was tied through 16.
What does it mean if a player is dormie in golf?
Dormie refers to a golfer who has won enough holes that the worst he or she can do is finish in a tie. For instance, Schauffele and Cantlay were sitting dormie heading into the 18th hole in the first round. They had won five holes to MacIntyre and Hovland’s four, meaning the best the Europeans could do was tie by winning 18.
Schauffele and Cantlay closed the door, claiming the U.S. team’s first point.
What happens when a match is all-square?
In Ryder Cup scoring, a match that finishes all-square is a tie, with half a point going to each team. It doesn’t matter whether the competing teams each won nine holes or tied all nine.
A match can also be all-square at any point. It’s just another term for a tie.
What’s the difference between four-ball and foursomes?
Our Jon Hoefling broke it down before the tournament. Here’s the gist:
While Sunday’s singles play is pretty straightforward — golfer vs. golfer mano y mano — foursomes and four-ball is a little less traditional.
Foursomes, also known as “alternate shot,” sees a pair of golfers alternate shots hitting the same ball. It requires both golfers to play to their partners’ strengths and around their weaknesses without solely relying on the skill of any singular golfer.
Four-ball, meanwhile, is similar, in that it pits two teams of two against each other. But in four-ball, each golfer takes their own shot, with four shots being taken in total, hence the name “four-ball.” Each golfer will play their ball throughout the entirety of the hole, but only the lowest score on each team will be recorded.
Four-ball offers much more leeway than other forms of golf and de-emphasizes bogeys. In traditional golf, an inopportune bogey could wreck your entire round, but in four-ball, you have a partner to pick you up, giving each golfer a little more leash to work with. In that same sense, birdies become that much more important because a singular birdie will beat out two pars from your opponents.
How to watch 2025 Ryder CupDate: Sept. 26-28TV: NBC, Golf Channel and USA NetworkStream: Peacock and FuboLocation: Bethpage State Park Black course (Farmingdale, New York)
Stream the 2025 Ryder Cup tournament with Fubo
Eric Larsen is USA TODAY Sports editor. Follow him on social, @ericlarsen_usat.
