Most of the world’s best golfers are hanging out in the suburbs of Chicago this weekend, but they're not there to share a cold one and reminisce about good times. It’s the 39th Ryder Cup, the golf tournament that features the best players in Europe taking on their American counterparts every two years.
The tourney, featuring such pros as Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy, and Jim Furyk,kicked off Friday and should finish up on Sunday, barring any unforeseen incidents. It is one of the few events that pro golfers team up to play rather than competing as individuals. Europe has won all but two of the events since 1995, but the Americans have the home-course advantage this time around.
Economies can be crumbling. Hemlines can be rising. Icebergs can be melting. But pretty much nothing stops these two sides from doing battle for bragging rights. After all, there is no prize money involved. It’s all about pride. And this time around, everybody around will be sporting new Ryder Cup logos, which was designed by the folks at Interbrand, which just happens to own brandchannel, as part of a brand refresh to help this tourney stand apart from all the endless rest.
There are some that believe that the Ryder Cup brand is so powerful it impacts bond and currency markets. A few economists at UniCredit dove into the data from past Ryder Cups and offer up the following advice, the Wall Street Journal reports: “Go long EUR-USD if the European team wins the foursomes and fourballs played over the first two days of the event and forget the singles played on Sundays as they don’t have the same relevance when it comes to team character.”
The firm, which isn’t too serious about the info, also noted that bond investors should watch out for the play of Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Italy’s Francesco Molinari because, based on results from 2008 and 2010, “when players from southern Europe performed poorly, Spanish and Italian spreads 'went literally through the roof' months later,” the Journal reports.
Davis Love III, the captain of this year’s U.S. side, told reporters at Thursday night’s opening ceremonies that they should "remember that these matches aren't played for life and death," Buzzfeed reports. That may be true, but at least he should know that the markets are depending on him and his team. And the markets need all the help they can get.
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