Joe Callaghan: Europeans can become immortals in the pantheon of this maddening cup

Europe chase a first Ryder Cup win on US soil since 2012 as Bethpage Black prepares for a stormy showdown

All smiles from Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy during practice at the Bethpage Black Course on Thursday. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA 

The rust brick and fieldstone clubhouse of Bethpage State Park is all Tudor revival charm, so confident in its architectural appeal that it never needs to be imposing. At no point does it rise higher than a second storey.

Officially, it sits at 99 Quaker Meeting House Road. The plot of land responsible for that address is a 25-metre skip across the street from the main entrance. A clearing in a thicket of trees has been a gathering point for the Quakers for over 300 years. “First meetings held in 1698,” says an all-caps commemorative plaque.