Noting that so many of the world's best players are at Medinah Country Club

Still, there was a certain charm about having the team arrive as one.

U.S. captain Davis Love III remembers his first RyderCup in 1993 at The Belfry, when Tom Watson assembled his group in New York and spoke of a grand adventure to Europe with the sole purpose of bringing back the cup.

Golf is different now.

"I miss that a little bit," Love said. "We all gather and fly over. They fly over here. That was a really cool thing. But I think what we have got now is a much bigger event."

Noting that so many of the world's best players are at Medinah Country Club, Love said that golf has become "incredibly better."

"What we have in our team rooms now and the camaraderie between the two teams is just incredible, and it's amazing how much it's changed over the years," Love said. "And we're playing against our friends, but it's still as intense — maybe even more — because we are more familiar with them."