Ryder Cup 2012 begins this Friday, with the schedule starting off at 8:00 a.m. (EST), pitting the Americans against the 2010 winners, Team Europe.

The Ryder Cup happens every two years and this year, it will take place at the Medinah Country Club in Illinois. Twenty-four of the world's best players will gather, twelve to represent USA while the other twelve represent Europe. (See the roster below.)

Twenty-eight matches will be played between Friday and Sunday. Team USA will need to get at least 14.5 points to take the Ryder Cup from the Europeans. A tie of 14 to 14 would mean that the Europeans would keep the cup.

On Friday and Saturday, there will be four foursome matches and four four-ball matches played. On Sunday the 12 singles matches will be played.

See the scores from Day 1 here.

This year, Team Europe is led by Jose Maria Olazabal. Some key players include Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, and Luke Donald. Team USA is led by Davis Love III. The team includes top players like Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, and Phil Mickelson.

Read more about Team USA at Ryder Cup 2012 Team USA: Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson and Brandt Snedeker.

SCHEDULE & TEE TIMES

DATE                               TIME                             EVENT

Friday, Sept. 28               8:20 AM                         First Tee Time (Foursomes)

Friday, Sept. 28               1:05 PM or 2:05 PM      First Tee Time (Fourballs)

Saturday, Sept. 29           8:20 AM                        First Tee Time (Foursomes)

Saturday, Sept. 29           1:05 PM                        First Tee Time (Fourballs)

Sunday, Sept. 30             12:03 PM - 2:04 PM     Singles Tee Times

 

TELEVISION COVERAGE

DATE                               TIME                             NETWORK

Friday, Sept. 28               8:00 AM                        ESPN

Friday, Sept. 28               8:00 AM                        ESPN3 (Live Stream)

Saturday, Sept. 29           9:00 AM - 7:00 PM       NBC

Sunday, Sept. 30             12:00 PM - 6:00 PM     NBC

 

ROSTER

TEAM USA                             TEAM EUROPE

Capt.: Davis Love III               Capt.: Jose Maria Olazabal

Keegan Bradley                      Nicolas Colsaerts

Jason Dufner                          Luke Donald

Jim Furyk                                Sergia Garcia

Dustin Johnson                       Peter Hanson

Zach Johnson                         Martin Kaymer

Matt Kuchar                            Paul Lawrie

Phil Mickelson                        Graeme McDowell

Brandt Snedeker                    Rory McIlroy

Webb Simpson                       Francesco Molinari

Tiger Woods                           Lee Westwood