EuroDov Reporter has poured over the stats, the form sheets and consulted their crystal ball and if they are right, we’re in for a real battle for the RyDov Cup.

After analysing all 12 singles matchups they have it poised at 6-6, with Team Gowens winning the final match – important because the team that wins that match has gone on to win the cup 67% of the time.

In the morning singles there is a point available for each match – 12 in total – and in the afternoon the Greensomes offers 2 points per match – meaning a further 12 points are available.

At this point it is worth remembering that Team Love require 14 points to retain the trophy, but Team Gowens require 14.5 points to win it.

Let’s unleash EuroDov Reporter on the stat books for one more time and see what they have to say on the 6 Greensomes matches and where the RyDov Cup will be headed after the close of play.

Match 4 features Barry Cunningham & Stuart Sutherland v Stuart Anderson & Rory Malloch.

This really is Founders versus newcomers with Cunningham and Sutherland both playing in 2013 and Anderson and Malloch only having 1 appearance between them.

Cunningham and Sutherland have similar track records in the format with a 50%- and 44%-win rate respectively. They have played together twice in this format with the same score line 5&4, the first time a defeat, the second time a victory – the later coming just last year. A fact I am sure wasn’t lost on Love when making his selections.

Across the leaderboard they face of against Anderson, who lost in his debut in 2023 and Malloch who makes his debut. However, these pair are not new to winning on the EuroDov Tour with Anderson and Malloch both making up half of the Anstruther Medal and Plate winners, respectively.

Weighing everything up here, including the 4-shot advantage Anderson/Malloch will have in handicap, I need to give this one again to Team Love. Cunningham & Sutherland have form in this format, and Cunningham’s calm and controlled game will play well alongside Sutherland who can beat the best on Tour (and he’s done it twice this year already) when he’s on his game.

I think it’s just too much of an ask of Anderson/Malloch and this will push Team Love within a half point of winning the Cup.

Team Love 12 – 8 Team Gowens