ATLANTA — Now that world No. 1 Justin Rose has the FedExCup in his hands, the United States will try to retain possession of the Ryder Cup as the 42nd edition of the biennial matches begins Friday.

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the rest of the U.S. squad, including captain Jim Furyk and his assistants, as well as caddies and significant others, boarded a charter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday night for a trip across the pond. Eleven of the players finished up play Sunday in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.

Jordan Spieth, the lone player who did not qualify for the Tour Championship, met the team in Atlanta.

Included in the team’s luggage is the Ryder Cup, which the Americans won by beating the Europeans 17-11 in 2016 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota.

The Americans are looking to win on foreign soil – Le Golf National outside Paris, to be specific – for the first time since 1993. And the team is loaded. All 12 players reside inside the top 25 in the official world rankings, including Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas in the top five. And Woods is coming off victory in the Tour Championship.

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“Flying tonight with the guys, it's going to be fun,” said Woods, who was greeted after he walked off the 18th green at East Lake by Ryder Cup teammates Bryson DeChambeau, Rickie Fowler and Thomas.

And there will be a lot of sleep involved.

“The biggest thing about getting there is resting and recovering,” said Patrick Reed, aka Captain America. “Especially after leaving at 10 p.m. and playing a round of golf (at the Tour Championship). You need to do what you can to adjust to the time difference, to sleeping patterns.

“Some players will go to the course when we get there, maybe hit some balls, maybe play a round. And on that first day, you check if the clothes fit.”

Six Europeans also left Atlanta on private aircraft after playing the final round of the Tour Championship — Rose, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey, Francesco Molinari, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood. They will be joined by captain Thomas Bjorn and his assistants as well as the other six European players, some who played in the Portugal Masters. All 12 of the Euros are in the top 44 in the world rankings.

Practice rounds at Le Golf National begin in earnest Tuesday. The first session of the matches is Friday morning.

Mickelson, who will be playing in his 12th Ryder Cup, was paired with Reed in the final round of the Tour Championship. Of course, the two talked Ryder Cup. And Mickelson wasn’t devastated by finishing last in the tournament.

“I don’t know what to say. Obviously, I didn’t play well,” Mickelson said after finishing 13 over. “It’s not the week I would like heading into any big tournament, but next week is totally different. Different grass, different course, different everything.

“And we have a lot of guys on this team that are great players and who have great leadership skills that will make for a fun week and bring out the best in all of us.”