The RyDov Cup, where the Tour began all those years ago, has staked its claim as both the marquee event of the year and also the final event of the year.

It is revered by all who have played in it, and each year brings a new story line, greater intrigued and fantastic competition and camaraderie.

The 2024 edition is no different, yet in many ways it is, it is the 10th match played and with that comes a level of expectation never really felt before. The Tour have also marked this occasion by diverging from the traditional selection method and have created a team of Founding players to face off against a team of newcomers and have put two players that epitomize the Tour entirely, Andy Love and Paul Gowens, in charge of them.

We’ve heard the team announcement, we’ve witnessed the verbal sparring of the Captains, now we’ve unleashed EuroDov Reporter on 9 years’ worth of RyDov Cup records and thousands of sheets of data from Tour events to give us a blow by blow prediction from each match so sit back, enjoy and get ready to argue your case against EuroDov Reporter.

Match 3 in the morning singles features Greig Baxter v Graeme Rose.

This is the golfer’s game. Two players with strong youth pedigrees, facing off against each other in what will undoubtedly be a spectacle to watch.

Baxter is making his 6th appearance compared to Rose’s 3rd but both of these players come from a strong competition background stretching back to their teens. This could have been a Fife v Borders match in the early 2000’s and it would have been a belter back then too.

Baxter has a 50%-win rate and so does Rose, so their RyDov Records call this one paper thin.

The only thing separating them come this match will the smallest of handicap difference in Team Love’s favour and this might just be the difference.

You’ll not see two more contrasting styles off the tee, Baxter’s low cutting drives will be juxtaposed by Rose’s high towering draws, but on the fairways and around the greens these players possess great touch and feel that will undoubtedly decide the outcome of this match.

It’s so hard to separate these players but with a handful of shots in Baxter’s favour I am going to give it to him on the slimmest of margins.

Team Love 2 – 1 Team Gowens