THIS week’s news agenda in the United States has been dominated by the first presidential debate, pitting two fiercely-opposed forces against each other as they pursue the ultimate prize in the political sphere.

Tomorrow morning, on the greens and fairways of Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota, attention will switch to a similarly super-charged meeting of two sporting powers going head-to-head for sporting glory. Europe versus United States in the battle for the Ryder Cup. To borrow from the political arena, who will boast the trump card?

The US team hope their superior quality will ultimately prove decisive. Eleven members of the US team are ranked within the world’s top 30; only six players on the European side fulfil the same criteria, and one of them, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, just scrapes in in 30th.

As well as boasting Dustin Johnson and Jimmy Walker, who have won Majors this year, US captain Davis Love III can also call upon the likes of Jordan Spieth, a two-time Major winner in 2015, Phil Mickelson, the most experienced player on either team, and Rickie Fowler, who is firmly established in the world’s top ten.

Bubba Watson will be prowling the fairways as one of Love’s assistants this week, having failed to secure a place as one of the US captain’s wildcard picks. Had he been European, he would have walked into the team and probably played in every session.

Even the lowest ranked of the US players – people like JB Holmes, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson – boast plenty of strong form in the last 12 months. Love has been forced to backtrack on a comment he made earlier this week when he described the US line-up as the “best team ever assembled”, yet statistically, he probably has a case.

Johnny Miller, a two-time Major winner and respected US analyst, responded by branding the European team “the worst they’ve had in many years”, and again once you strip away the jingoism, there is still a degree of logic to his description.

Six of Europe’s players are rookies, and in Matthew Fitzpatrick, Thomas Pieters, Andy Sullivan and Chris Wood, Darren Clarke finds himself presiding over a group of youngsters who are about to experience the most pressurised three days of their golfing lives.

They will face a fiercely partisan crowd, with the US fans desperate to ensure there is no repeat of the ‘Miracle of Medinah’, which saw the European side snatch glory in the most dramatic of fashions when they last crossed the Atlantic to compete.

The US team have won just two of the last ten Ryder Cups, and this weekend’s renewal is being presented as a matter of national pride. A much-trumpeted ‘Task Force’ was set up in the wake of Europe’s thumping 2014 win at Gleneagles, and the US team has left nothing to chance in the build-up to this weekend’s event.

Evoking memories of past attempts to turn the Ryder Cup into a militaristic pursuit – think Corey Pavin and the ‘War on the Shore’ at Kiawah Island – the US team has been split into ‘pods’ along the lines of the US Navy SEALs.

It proves how much regaining the Ryder Cup means to the US team, but it all feels a bit fake and forced. The more the US turn to the appliance of science, the more they work themselves into a frenzy that is ultimately self-defeating.

It has happened before, and the sense from the European side on the opening day of the competition, is that it is destined to happen again.

Compare the forced macho patriotism of the US side, with the views of Sullivan, one of the European rookies. “The best part of the team room is the dartboard,” said Sullivan. “That’s where I’m going to take down a few of the boys.”

Or the opinions of Sergio Garcia, who will be playing in his eighth Ryder Cup this weekend. “I think that our Tour, it’s a lot closer between the players,” said Garcia. “I think that when you come out on the European Tour, you share rooms with players and things like that. That doesn’t really happen on the (US) PGA Tour. Our relationships are easier to build and cultivate into strong bonds.”

It’s not that the European players don’t care about the Ryder Cup as passionately as their opponents, it’s just that they tend to channel their energies in a much more positive direction. Clarke’s team have spent the last few months looking forward to meeting up with some of their mates and smashing some golf balls around. The US side already appear to have had the fun sucked out of them, such is the perceived enormity of the task they are taking on.

None of which is to say, of course, that Europe will necessarily retain the trophy. Clarke’s key players will still have to play out of their skins if they are to triumph over the next three days, but the core of the European side could hardly be stronger when it comes to Ryder Cup experience and proven match-play mettle.

All of the European players to have previously competed in the Ryder Cup have a winning record – the US have five players, including Mickelson, who have lost more Ryder Cup matches than they have won.

Rory McIlroy, who heads into the Ryder Cup on the back of his FedEx Championship win, will be the talisman of the European team, with his personal friendship with Clarke serving as an additional motivating factor.

Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood will be prominent figures in the opening morning’s play, with Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer and reigning US Masters champion Danny Willett also set to play key roles in Clarke’s opening-day pairings.

If those players fire, and the rest of Europe’s rookies chip in as and when required, there is no reason why Clarke’s side cannot enjoy more success. They relish the Ryder Cup format, particularly when it comes to foursomes play, and should blend together more naturally than their American opponents.

“How good a victory would this be if we go out and beat these guys on their home soil?” asked McIlroy earlier this week. Let’s hope he is about to find out…