Rivalries are nothing new in sport. They are on every corner but few have the importance or the commercial impact of the three-day match play tournament which biennially pits the best players from both the US and Europe against each other: the Ryder Cup.

Golf hasn’t been part of the Olympic programme since 1904 so you would have expected that the commencement of the men’s golf tournament today would be a time for celebration.

One Direction superstar Niall Horan will caddie for Rory McIlroy at the Masters Par 3 competition which takes place today in Augusta.