The Nashville Predators have two weeks until the Oct. 9 home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the meantime, several of the team’s biggest stars plan to watch a little golf.

The 45th Ryder Cup, a biennial match play tournament pitting the United States against Europe, gets underway with the first round on Sept. 26 (7 a.m. CT, USA), and players like Steve Stamkos, Roman Josi and Brady Skjei are hoping to catch a little of the action between preseason games in Tampa and Carolina.

The Ryder Cup alternates host sites. In 2023, Team Europe beat Team USA at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome. This year’s competition is being held at Bethpage Black Golf Course in Farmingdale, New York.

Here’s what several of the Predators‘ biggest golf fans will be watching for.

Steven Stamkos

Stamkos admits he doesn’t watch as much golf as he used to because of his busy hockey and family schedule. But he likes Team USA’s home crowd advantage.

“I think Europe’s got the better team on paper,” he said. “But I think that U.S. crowd will be buzzing.”

As a Canadian, Stamkos said he doesn’t have a rooting interest either way. He misses the days when Tiger Woods was dominating the sport, but enjoys seeing stars Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.

Roman Josi

Swiss defenseman and Predators captain Roman Josi is unwavering in his support for the Europeans.

“Team Europe, all the way,” he said.

He did concede that the U.S. has the better overall player in Scheffler, but that in match play, it’s really a team sport. He thinks it will be a close contest, but that Europe will get the victory.

Brady Skjei

As confident as Josi was in Team Europe, Minnesota native Brady Skjei is just as confident in Team USA.

“USA all the way. Bethpage is going to be rowdy,” Skjei said. He cited Team USA’s strong roster with Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele as too much for the Europeans.

Skjei added that he has played at Bethpage Black Course and that it’s “really hard.”

Cole Smith

Another Minnesota native, forward Cole Smith made his allegiance clear: “I would never bet against the USA.”

Nick Perbix

One of the Predators’ newest defensemen, Nick Perbix is a big golf fan — Scheffler is his guy — but thinks the matchup is more even than people assume.

“Europe definitely has a good squad, but the home crowd is so important,” Perbix said. “I’d give the edge to Team USA, but I’m going with my heart on that one.”

Like Skjei and Smith, Perbix is from Minnesota. He was acquired by Nashville in free agency during the summer, signing a two-year, $5.5 million deal after spending his first three seasons with Tampa.

Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.