There is more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak. Apart from switching on to Sky Sports, another way to "watch" the Ryder Cup live is on the internet. IBM has developed two new web sites for the occasion, one in the United States (www.rydercup.com) and another in Europe (www.97rydercup.com).

In addition to providing extensive background on the tournament, player biographies and statistics, the web sites will feature a custom scoring programme that allows users to launch a second browser window to follow their choice of matches in progress. The information provided for each match in progress will include real-time scoring, the pin placement on the hole for that particular day, and how the players in the match have fared on that hole in the previous days of the tournament.