If there is one golf tournament in the world that should not affect me one bit, it is the Ryder Cup. Being an Asian, I have absolutely no chance to qualify. And yet, if you ask me which is the one tournament that I would dearly like to be a part of, my answer would be the Ryder Cup.

It’s just that kind of an event. The passion and excitement it whips up transcends the geographical boundaries of Europe and the US. The quality of golf is such that those three days of intense battle between the two leading continents in the world engulfs fans all across the globe.

It’s also quite amazing how the team dimension in what is predominantly an individual sport makes such a huge difference. The equation is very simple — if we think each of the 12 team members have one million fans on an average, that itself adds up to 12 million fans for the team. And then, of course, there is the element of continental patriotism that swells that number by several millions more.

So, after an agonising wait of two years, the biennial battle returns this week to one of the most stunning countryside course of Scotland, at Gleneagles. The PGA Centenary course is very familiar to most of us European Tour players and, with its brilliant mix of short and long holes, I do think it will make for a superb battleground.

I don’t think I am the first person to say that Europe are the overwhelming favourites, but I will hasten to add that is how it looks on paper. We have all seen it happen so many times in the past in team events, that once the players reach the first tee on Friday morning, reputations and form go for a toss. More often that not, it is David who gets the better of Goliath.

How else do you explain the fact that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, who have 19 major titles in between them, have the most mediocre Ryder Cup records compared to Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia, who have a combined total of zero majors but are the three most successful players in the history of the tournament?

And that alone is the reason why Europe and captain Paul McGinley cannot take anything for granted until the last putt is dropped on Sunday.

A lot of talk in the build-up of the event has been around the possible break-up of the Rory McIlroy-Graeme McDowell pairing. I completely get G-Mac’s reasoning that Rory has outgrown him as a partner. Such is G-Mac’s personality, and so solid is his golf, he can be a good partner to any of the other 10 players and it makes better sense for Europe to pair him with one of the more inexperienced guys.

As far as I can see, only two pairings look to be set in stone at the moment — Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley and Ian Poulter and Justin Rose.

It will be fascinating to watch the action unfold and the strategies that the two rival captains adopt. It is going to be one heck of a weekend for golf fans.

— Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour