Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in an event called the "Ryder Cup Matches" by teams from Europe and the United States. The Matches are jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour.

The competition began following an exhibition match in 1926 of a team representing American professionals against a similar one representing the British PGA on the East Course, Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, UK.

Early matches between the two sides were fairly even, but after the Second World War, repeated US dominance[1] led to a decision to extend the representation of the British & Irish[2] team to Europe in 1979. This change was partly prompted by the success of a new generation of Spanish golfers of the time including Severiano Ballesteros. He and Antonio Garrido were the first Spaniards to play in the event in 1979. Europe has also been represented since then by players from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden.

As a result of this change the event has enjoyed more competitive matches and since 1985 Europe has begun to dominate in the way that the Americans had done in the thirty years after World War II.

Format

The Ryder Cup Matches involve various match play matches between players selected from two teams of twelve. Currently, the matches consist of eight foursomes matches, eight fourball matches and twelve singles matches. The winner of each match scores a point for their team, with ½ a point each for any match that is tied after 18 holes.

A foursomes match is a competition between two teams of two golfers. The golfers on the same team take alternate shots throughout the match, with the same ball. Each hole is won by the team that completes the hole in the fewest shots. A fourball match is also a competition between two teams of two golfers, but all four golfers play their own ball throughout the round rather than alternating shots, and each hole is won by the team whose individual golfer has the lowest score. A singles match is a standard matchplay competition between two golfers.

The matches take place over three days, Friday through Sunday. On the Friday, there are four fourball matches and four foursomes matches in the afternoon. On the Saturday, the same schedule repeats. On the Sunday, there are twelve singles matches. Not all players need play on Friday and Saturday; the captain can select any eight players for each of the four rounds of play over these two days.

Founding of the Cup

There is some debate over who suggested the idea for the Ryder Cup. James Harnett, a journalist with Golf Illustrated magazine appears to have proposed a similar idea to the USPGA on December 15, 1920 and, having failed to attract support, the idea was refloated by a Sylvanus Germain, president of the Toledo Country Club, the next year. This resulted in an unofficial match in 1921, won 9–3 by the British, and another in 1926, won 13½–1½ by Britain. Present at the second 1926 match, held on the East Course at Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, was St. Albans' seed merchant, Samuel Ryder. Having watched the play, Mr Ryder thought it would be good idea to make the match official and thus the Ryder Cup was founded, with Ryder donating the trophy.

Few people who took up golf after their 50th birthday have left as many positive impressions on the game during the history of golf. To get started Ryder recruited the services of a golf professional called Hill from a local golf course to introduce him to the fundamentals of golf. Afterwards Ryder hired Abe Mitchell as his private tutor for a fee of £1,000 per year. Ryder received most of his lessons at his home, Marlborough House and he was relentless. He practised his driving, pitching and putting six days each week.

At the age of 51 he had achieved a handicap of six and was accepted as a member of the Verulam Golf Club in St Albans in 1910. A year later he became captain of the golf club. He was also club captain in 1926 and 1927. In 1923 he sponsored the Heath and Heather Tournament which was only open to professionals. One of the golf professionals that took part was ex-gardener Abe Mitchell, considered one of best British golfers of his era.

Among the British, at the 1926 landmark match, were golfing giants Abe Mitchell, George Duncan, Archie Compston, Ted Ray (portrayed by Stephen Marcus in the 2005 film The Greatest Game Ever Played), and Arthur Havers. From America came Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour, Jim Barnes and Al Watrous.

This first official match was held in Massachusetts in 1927. Ryder, who donated a gold cup and had agreed to pay £5 to each member of the winning team, attached his name to the new competition. It has been held on a two year cycle since, apart from 1939 to 1945 when it was cancelled due to World War II.

The 2001 match was delayed for a year, as it was due to take place very shortly after the September 11 attacks. It was subsequently decided to hold the Ryder Cup in even-numbered years instead of odd-numbered years. The boards at The Belfry Golf Course, which hosted the 2002 Ryder Cup (which should have been hosted in 2001) still read The 2001 Ryder Cup and Captain, Curtis Strange deliberately referred to the US team as "The 2001 Ryder Cup Team" in his speech at the closing ceremony.

Controversial Ryder Cups

1969
The 1969 Cup held at Royal Birkdale was perhaps one of the best and most competitive contests in terms of play (18 of the 32 matches went to the last green), but it was also marred by acrimony and gamesmanship between some players. In one of golf's most memorable moments of sportsmanship, Jack Nicklaus, playing in his first Ryder Cup Matches, conceded a two-footer to Tony Jacklin after making a four-footer for par on the last green. The 'gimme' was very generous; Jacklin was far from assured of making it. Nicklaus said: 'I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity.' The result was the first tie in the Matches' history (the US retained the Cup) but some of Nicklaus' teammates including captain Sam Snead were less than pleased.

1991
After accusing each other of cheating at The Belfry in 1989, the feud between Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger escalated at Kiawah Island in 1991. Azinger: 'I can tell you were not trying to cheat.' Ballesteros: 'Oh no. Breaking the rules and cheating are two different things.' The constant goading intensified their desire to win and with their partners, José María Olazábal and Chip Beck respectively, they produced what is regarded as the best pairs match in history, the Spaniards winning 2&1.

1999
The 1999 Ryder Cup held at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., caused great controversy. A remarkable comeback by the American team helped propel the U.S. to a 14.5-13.5 victory after trailing 10-6 heading into the final day. The U.S. went 8-3-1 in singles matches to seal the first American victory since 1993.

The competition turned on the 17th hole of a match between American Justin Leonard and Spaniard José María Olazábal. The match being all square at the 17th hole, Leonard needed to earn at least a half-point by either winning one of the last two holes (therefore earning a full point), or finishing the match at all square (therefore earning a half-point) to seal an American victory. After Olazábal's second shot left him with a 22-foot putt on the par-4, Leonard hit his shot within 10 feet of the hole and then watched it roll away from the cup, leaving him with a 45-foot putt for birdie. While sinking a putt of this length is unlikely, Leonard had made putts of 25 and 35 feet earlier in the round. Leonard holed the astounding putt, and a wild celebration ensued with other U.S. players, their wives, and a few fans running onto the green. Had Leonard's putt sealed the match, this type of behavior would have been inappropriate but moot. Knowing that a made putt would extend the match while a miss would assure Leonard of a half-point and the U.S. a victory (the Americans needed 14.5 points to gain the cup due to the Europeans' 1997 victory at Valderrama), Olazábal tried to regain his focus. However, he missed the difficult putt, and the American team celebrated once again (although the second celebration was more reserved than the first one).

According to the "Best of the Rest" section of ESPN's Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame program, NBC footage and press photos prove that no official rules (Ryder Cup or PGA) were broken when the Americans celebrated after Leonard's putt (i.e. no one walked in or crossed Olazábal's putting line). However, the game of golf is upheld by many to be "the gentleman's game," and there remain a number of unwritten rules and codes of conduct which the European players believe were being ignored. Many of the American players believed the Europeans' response was hypocritical; they argued that European players - in particular Severiano Ballesteros - had been guilty of excessive celebration and gamesmanship as far back as the 1985 Ryder Cup match, without attracting the same opprobrium from the European media.

There was still considerable bad blood after the match with some of the European players complaining about the behavior of the American galleries throughout the match. Sam Torrance branded it "disgusting," while European captain Mark James referred to it as a "bear pit" in a book recounting the event[4]. There were also reports that his wife was spat at by a spectator.[5]

Following the 1999 Ryder Cup, a number of the members of the U.S. team apologized for their behavior, and there were numerous attempts by both teams to calm the increasing nationalism of the event. These efforts appears to have been largely successful with subsequent Cups being played in the "spirit of the game."

Year I Venue I Winning Team Captain I Score I Losing Team Captain

1927 Worcester CC, Worcester, Massachusetts United States, Walter Hagen 9½ 2½ United Kingdom, Ted Ray
1929 Moortown GC, Leeds United Kingdom, George Duncan 7 5 United States, Walter Hagen
1931 Scioto CC, Columbus, Ohio United States, Walter Hagen 9 3 United Kingdom, Charles Whitcombe
1933 Southport & Ainsdale GC, Southport United Kingdom, John Henry Taylor 6½ 5½ United States, Walter Hagen
1935 Ridgewood CC, Paramus, New Jersey United States, Walter Hagen 9 3 United Kingdom, Charles Whitcombe
1937 Southport & Ainsdale GC, Southport United States, Walter Hagen 8 4 United Kingdom, Charles Whitcombe
1947 Portland GC, Portland, Oregon United States, Ben Hogan 11 1 United Kingdom, Henry Cotton
1949 Ganton GC, Scarborough United States, Ben Hogan 7 5 United Kingdom, Charles Whitcombe
1951 Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, North Carolina United States, Sam Snead 9½ 2½ United Kingdom, Arthur Lacey
1953 Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey United States, Lloyd Mangrum 6½ 5½ United Kingdom, Henry Cotton
1955 Thunderbird CC, Rancho Mirage, California United States, Chick Harbert 8 4 United Kingdom, Dai Rees
1957 Lindrick GC, Rotherham United Kingdom, Dai Rees 7½ 4½ United States, Jack Burke
1959 Eldorado CC, Indian Wells, California United States, Sam Snead 8½ 3½ United Kingdom, Dai Rees
1961 Royal Lytham & St Annes, Lytham St Annes United States, Jerry Barber 14½ 9½ United Kingdom, Dai Rees
1963 East Lake GC, Atlanta, Georgia United States, Arnold Palmer 23 9 United Kingdom, John Fallon
1965 Royal Birkdale, Southport United States, Byron Nelson 19½ 12½ United Kingdom, Harry Weetman
1967 Champions GC, Houston, Texas United States, Ben Hogan 23½ 8½ United Kingdom, Dai Rees
1969 Royal Birkdale, Southport United States Sam Snead, United Kingdom Eric Brown 16 16 Matches tied, USA retain trophy
1971 Old Warson CC, St. Louis, Missouri United States, Jay Hebert 18½ 13½ United Kingdom, Eric Brown
1973 Muirfield Links, Gullane, East Lothian United States, Jack Burke 19 13 UK & Ireland, Bernard Hunt
1975 Laurel Valley GC, Ligonier, Pennsylvania United States, Arnold Palmer 21 11 UK & Ireland, Bernard Hunt
1977 Royal Lytham & St Annes, Lytham St Annes United States, Dow Finsterwald 12½ 7½ UK & Ireland, Brian Huggett
1979 The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia United States, Billy Casper 17 11 Europe, John Jacobs
1981 Walton Health GC, Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey United States, Dave Marr 18½ 9½ Europe, John Jacobs
1983 PGA National GC, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida United States, Jack Nicklaus 14½ 13½ Europe, Tony Jacklin
1985 The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield Europe, Tony Jacklin 16½ 11½ United States, Lee Trevino
1987 Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio Europe, Tony Jacklin 15 13 United States, Jack Nicklaus
1989 The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield Europe Tony Jacklin, United States Ray Floyd 14 14 Matches tied, Europe retain trophy
1991 Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Kiawah Island, South Carolina United States, Dave Stockton 14½ 13½ Europe, Bernard Gallacher
1993 The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield United States, Tom Watson 15 13 Europe, Bernard Gallacher
1995 Oak Hill CC, Rochester, New York Europe, Bernard Gallacher 14½ 13½ United States, Lanny Wadkins
1997 Valderrama GC, Sotogrande Europe, Seve Ballesteros 14½ 13½ United States, Tom Kite
1999 The Country Club, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts United States, Ben Crenshaw 14½ 13½ Europe, Mark James
2002^ The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield Europe, Sam Torrance 15½ 12½ United States, Curtis Strange
2004 Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Europe, Bernhard Langer 18½ 9½ United States, Hal Sutton
2006 The K Club, Straffan, County Kildare, Rep. Ireland Europe, Ian Woosnam 18½ 9½ United States, Tom Lehman
2008 Valhalla GC, Louisville, Kentucky
2010 Celtic Manor Resort, Newport
2012 Medinah CC, Medinah, Illinois
2014 Gleneagles, Auchterarder
2016 Hazeltine National GC, Chaska, Minnesota
2018 TBA (continental Europe)
2020 Whistling Straits, Sheboygan, Wisconsin

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Ryder Cup. (2006, December 6). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 04:43, December 21, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ryder_Cup&oldid=92563543