Showtime stages Ryder Cup showdown

The Ryder Cup, one of the last great sporting events founded on prestige rather than prize money, was first contested in 1927 and will be played for the 36th time this year. The origin of the idea was to stage international matches between the best American professionals and those of Great Britain is a subject of debate among golf historians.

This year Europe are looking to win the trophy for the third time in a row after they thrashed the United States by 18 ½ points to 9 ½ in 2004.

Ian Woosnam captains a European team that's sure to include Colin Montgomerie, the best Ryder Cup player of modern times, as the event is staged in Ireland for the first time.

Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer on earth, but he's been on the winning side just once since making his debut in 1997.

American captain Tom Lehman will be determined to erase the memories of that humiliating defeat on home soil two years ago and he'll have some of the world's best players in his team.

As well as the established stars, there will be a number of lesser-known players who could emulate the likes of Christy O'Connor Jnr and Philip Walton by writing their name into Ryder Cup folklore.

The Ryder Cup joins additional live, top-flight action on Showtime in the form the European PGA tour. Sportsnet will continue to air all remaining events on the tour calendar, in addition to a weekly round up of tour news and exclusive highlights of the Ladies European Tour.

Upcoming events for the men's event include the HSBC World Match Play Championship from 14th-17th September and the Dunhill Links Championship being played between the 5th and 8th October.

Sportsnet World will screen all of the play from all three days of the Ryder Cup Live and Exclusive from the K Club from September 22nd through to the 24th, with two hours of highlights from the previous days play the following morning.