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The 2016 Ryder Cup has arrived. Davis Love III is preparing the last of his early strategy for the United States. Darren Clarke is doing the same for the Europeans. The entire Cup is going to be enthralling. There are characters on both sides, sour memories from the last few events in the U.S. team room, and a nation thirsty for its first taste of champagne since the fall of 2008.

There are innumerable ways the U.S. can win this week, but based on the last few Ryder Cups, some combination of these six should get the job done. Let's take a look.

1. Feed Reed: Let the big dog eat. Patrick Reed is not this team's heart, but he is its soul.


Send him out first on Friday. Let him play as much as he wants. Some of these hardened veterans seem to have a tough time riding the emotional wave offered at this event. That's not a problem with Reed.

2. Ride Dustin Johnson: D.J. won't emote like Reed, but he can bury Europe's best guys. He's 4-3-0 in his career with a perfect 2-0 singles record. Love should try and figure out when the Rory McIlroy-Sergio and Justin Rose-Henrik Stenson pairings are going out and send Johnson and Brooks Koepka (and their missile-launching drivers) after them.

3. Don't get buried early: This might seem obvious, but the worst thing that can happen to a heavy favorite (like the U.S.) is for a seed of doubt to be planted early on. This is another reason to send Reed early on Friday. You want to at the very least tie the Friday morning session. If you don't, a sometimes mentally fragile U.S. team could be in big trouble.

4. Don't allow momentum on Saturday afternoon: The U.S. did pretty much everything right in 2012, tying the first four matches and taking the lead in the middle to set up Sunday singles. Then came the Saturday afternoon session when the U.S. let Europe take two points they should not have taken, which gave Europe confidence and momentum. We all know what happened on Sunday.

5. Split the foursomes: The U.S. lost the foursomes (or alternate shot matches) 7-1 last time around. Seven. To. One! This is where Europe has traditionally excelled, and you can't let them. In 2012, which we discussed earlier was a pretty solid formula (save the late Saturday momentum and singles meltdown on Sunday), the U.S. won alternate shot 5-3. If they do that again this year, it's going to be a rout. And I think it's going to be a rout.

6. Go hard Sunday morning: Send Jordan Spieth, D.J., and the rest of your big guns out early on Sunday. The ones with the stones. Don't let it linger especially if you have the lead (and you should have the lead). Leave no doubt.