Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup

Tournament information
Location	2012: Medinah, Illinois, U.S.
Established	1927
Course(s)	2012: Medinah Country Club
Par	2012: 72
Length	2012: 7,655 yd (7,000 m)
Tour(s)	PGA Tour, European Tour
Format	Match play
Prize fund	None
Month played	September
Current champion
Europe
2012 Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup (officially the Ryder Cup Matches) is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition, which is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the USA and Europe. It began following an exhibition match in 1926 between a team comprising American professionals against a similar one drawn from the British PGA on the East Course at Wentworth Club, in Surrey, England. The Ryder Cup is named after the English entrepreneur Samuel Ryder who originally donated the trophy.

The first official Ryder Cup took place in 1927 at Worcester Country Club, in Massachusetts, US. These early matches between the United States and Great Britain remained fairly even. It was not until the competition's resumption after the Second World War that repeated American dominance led to a decision, initiated by Jack Nicklaus, to extend the representation to continental Europe from 1979. The Republic of Ireland was officially included in the British team of 1973. Meanwhile, other Irish players had begun to compete in 1953 and Northern Irish players had competed since 1947.

The inclusion of Europe was partly prompted by the success of a new generation of Spanish golfers, led by Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido. Since 1979, Europe has won nine times outright and retained the Cup once by tying, with seven American wins over this period. Europe has won seven of the last nine matches and has not lost in Europe since 1993. Team Europe has included players from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. The Ryder Cup, and its counterpart the Presidents Cup, remain exceptions within the world of professional sports because all participants receive no prize money despite them being high-profile events that bring in tens of millions of dollars in television and sponsorship revenue.

The most recent Ryder Cup took place from 28–30 September 2012, at Medinah Country Club, in Illinois, US. The winner was Europe by a score of 14½ points to 13½ having overturned a four-point deficit going into the final day's play. The next Ryder Cup will be held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perth & Kinross, Scotland, in 2014.

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 PGA of America on 15 December 1920 and, having failed to attract support, the idea was refloated by Sylvanus P. "SP" Jermain, president of the Inverness Club, the next year. Historical records indicate that the first unofficial Ryder Cup-style matches were played in 1921 at Gleneagles Golf Course, Perthshire. The American team was chosen by James Harnett. Great Britain made Ryder Cup history by beating the American golf team 9-3, the second match in 1926 was won 13½–1½ by Britain. Present at the 1926 match, held on the East Course at Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, was Samuel Ryder, a seed merchant who traded from St Albans, Hertfordshire. Having watched the play, Ryder thought it would be a 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 captained 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 who took part was ex-gardener Abe Mitchell, considered one of the 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 Worcester, Massachusetts, at the Worcester Country Club, 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.

Inclusion of continental European golfers

The most significant change to the Ryder Cup has been the inclusion of continental European golfers since 1979. Up until 1977, the matches featured teams representing the United States and Great Britain and Ireland. From 1979 players from continental Europe have been eligible to join what is now known as Team Europe. The change to include continental Europeans arose from discussion in 1977 between Jack Nicklaus and the Earl of Derby, who was serving as the President of the Professional Golfers' Association; it was suggested by Nicklaus as a means to make the matches more competitive, since the Americans almost always won, often by lopsided margins. The change worked, as the contests immediately became much more competitive, with talented young Europeans such as Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer bolstering the European side. The present-day popularity of the Ryder Cup, which now generates enormous media attention, can be said to date from that change in eligibility.

Format

The setup of the Ryder Cup has changed over the years. From the inaugural event until 1959, the Ryder Cup was a two-day competition, with four 36-hole foursomes matches on the first day and eight 36-hole singles matches on the second day, for a total of 12 points. In 1961, the matches were changed to 18 holes each, but the number of matches was doubled, resulting in a total of 24 points. In 1963, the event was expanded to three days, with eight fourball matches being added on the middle day to make a total of 32 points. This format remained until 1977, when the number of matches was reduced to 20: five foursomes matches on the first day, five fourball matches on the second day, and ten singles matches on the final day. In 1979, the first year continental European players participated, the format was changed to the 28-match version in use today, with 8 foursomes/four-ball matches on the first two days and 12 singles matches on the last day.

The current Ryder Cup contests, which take place over three days, involve various match play competitions between players selected from two teams of twelve. Currently, each contest consists of eight foursomes matches, eight fourball matches and 12 singles matches, all matches being played over 18 holes. The winner of each match scores a point for his team, with ½ a point each for any match that is tied after the 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 match play competition between two golfers.

The Ryder Cup takes place between a Friday to a Sunday with a total of 28 matches. On Friday and Saturday there are four fourball matches and four foursomes matches each day; a session of four matches in the morning and a session of four matches in the afternoon. The home captain (for 2012 the captain for Team U.S.A. is Davis Love III) decides before the contest starts whether the fourball or foursomes matches are played in the morning. He may choose a different order for the two days. On Sunday, there are 12 singles matches, when all team members play. Not all players must play on Friday and Saturday; the captain can select any eight players for each of the sessions over these two days. The winning team is determined by cumulative total points. Under Ryder Cup rules, the team that does not currently hold the Cup must win the contest to win the Ryder Cup, so that if the contest is a tie (14 points each) the Ryder Cup is retained by the team who held it before the contest.

In the 2010 competition, the format was altered after bad weather on Friday meant that play could not be completed on the scheduled days, although it still had 8 foursome matches, 8 four-ball matches and 12 singles matches. Initially, on the Friday (1 October), the fourball competition began, but was suspended after around 2 hours due to torrential rain that caused the course to be waterlogged. The delay continued from around 9:30 to around 17:00, when play resumed, but was again suspended at around 19:00 due to fading light. The decision was taken to change the format, to try and complete the contest by Sunday evening. Thus, on the Saturday, the opening four fourballs matches were finished before 6 foursome matches began (involving all 24 players). These matches were completed on the Saturday, after which two foursomes and the four fourballs matches began (again involving all 24 players). Sunset caused play to be suspended in these 6 matches before they were completed. It was planned that these matches would be completed early on Sunday to be followed by the 12 singles matches, but further heavy rain on Sunday morning delayed the start until 13:30, leaving insufficient time to complete the singles matches that day. With the weather forecast for the Monday (4 October) being good, the decision was taken to complete the foursomes and fourballs competitions on Sunday and play the whole singles contest on the Monday.

Team qualification and selection

The selection process for the Ryder Cup players has varied over the years. In the early contests the teams were generally decided by a selection committee but later qualification based on performances was introduced. The current system by which most of the team is determined by performances with a small number of players selected by the captain (known as "wild cards" or "captain's picks") gradually evolved and has been used by both sides since 1989.

The qualification and selection process for the 2012 Ryder Cup is:

Team Europe

The European team qualification rules have changed since 2010. The European Points List now takes precedence over the World Points List, while the captain's picks have been reduced from 3 to 2 with the top 5 players in the World Points List now qualifying rather than the top 4. The team will consist of:

• The leading five players on the Ryder Cup European Points List
  • Points (1 Point = 1 Euro) earned in official European Tour events from 1 September 2011 to the conclusion of the 2012 Johnnie Walker Championship on 26 August
• The leading five players, not qualified above, on the Ryder Cup World Points List
  • Total World Rankings Points earned in Official World Golf Ranking events from 1 September 2011 to 20 August 2012 and thereafter in the 2012 Johnnie Walker Championship only
• Two captain's picks

Team USA

The United States qualification rules remain the same as for 2010 and the team will consist of:

• The leading eight players on the Ryder Cup Points List
  • Points gained from money earned in majors in 2011 and official PGA tour events in 2012 up to 12 August (i.e. up to and including money earned at the 2012 PGA Championship). Money earned in 2012 majors count double and money earned in 2012 alternate events (those played opposite the majors or World Golf Championships) count half.
• Four captain's picks

Notable Ryder Cups

1969: Nicklaus vs Jacklin

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). It was decided in its very last match, of which United States Captain Sam Snead later said "This is the greatest golf match you have ever seen in England".

With the United States and Great Britain all tied at 15.5 each, Jack Nicklaus led Tony Jacklin by the score of 1 up as they played the 17th hole. Jacklin made a 35-foot eagle putt and when Nicklaus missed his own eagle try from 12-feet, the match was all square.

At the par-5 finishing hole, both Jacklin and Nicklaus got on the green in two. Nicklaus ran his eagle putt five feet past the hole, while Jacklin left his two foot short. Nicklaus then sank his birdie putt, and with a crowd of 8,000 people watching, picked up Jacklin's marker, conceding the putt Jacklin needed to tie the matches. With the United States team already holding the cup, the tie allowed it to retain the cup. "I don't think you would have missed that putt," Nicklaus said to Jacklin afterwards, "but in these circumstances I would never give you the opportunity."

This gesture of sportsmanship by Nicklaus caused controversy on the American side, some of whom would have preferred to force Jacklin to attempt the putt for the small chance that he might miss, which miss would have given the United States team an outright win. "All the boys thought it was ridiculous to give him that putt," said Sam Snead. "We went over there to win, not to be good ol' boys."

1989: Azinger and Ballesteros

Held at The Belfry in Europe, the 1989 Ryder Cup saw the rising of tensions in the series. After holding the cup for more than two decades, the United States team lost both the 1985 and 1987 matches. At the 1989 matches, the pressure was on the United States team and its captain, Raymond Floyd. At a pre-match, opening celebration, Floyd slighted the European team by introducing his United States team as "the 12 greatest players in the world."

The competition saw the beginnings of a feud between Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger. Early in their singles match, Ballesteros sought to change a scuffed ball for a new ball under Rule of Golf 5-3. Somewhat unusually, Azinger disputed whether the ball was unfit for play. A referee was called, and sided with Azinger in ruling the ball fit for play. Ballesteros reportedly said to Azinger, "Is this the way you want to play today?" The match continued in a contentious fashion, culminating in Ballesteros unusually contesting whether Azinger took a proper drop after hitting into the water on the 18th hole.

The American team's frustration grew as the matches ended in a tie, with the European team retaining the cup.

1991: "The War on the Shore"

The overall tension between the teams and the feud between Ballesteros and Azinger escalated at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in 1991. At the ceremonial opening dinner, the PGA of America played two videos that were seen as less than hospitable by the European team. The first video was presented as a highlight reel of past Ryder Cups, but reportedly showed only Americans. The second video was a welcoming address by then-United States President George H. W. Bush in which he closed by cheering on the American side.

On the first morning of the competition, Azinger and Chip Beck were paired against Ballesteros and José María Olazábal in a foursome match, an alternate shot event. Azinger and Beck accused Ballesteros of gamesmanship on account of his throat clearing during Beck's shots. Later in the same match, Azinger and Beck, who were playing the same brand and make of ball but each with a slightly different model, switched their balls. While this switching was unlikely to have resulted in an advantage or to have been intentional, it was in violation of the "one ball rule" which was in effect for the competition. Under that rule, a player is prohibited from changing the type of ball he uses during the course of a match. A few holes after the switch had occurred, Ballesteros called the Americans for the violation. Azinger, seeming to feel that his integrity was being questioned, said "I can tell you we're not trying to cheat." Ballesteros responded, "Oh no. Breaking the rules and cheating are two different things." As the violation was called too long after it had occurred, no penalty was assessed against the American pair. The constant goading between Ballesteros and Azinger intensified their respective desires to win. Out of that intensity, they and their playing partners produced what may be regarded as one of the best pairs matches in history, with the Spaniards winning 2 & 1. After the matches concluded, Ballesteros reportedly said, "The American team has 11 nice guys. And Paul Azinger."

The 1991 matches received the sobriquet "the War on the Shore" after some excitable advertising in the American media, and intense rooting by the American home crowds. For his part, Corey Pavin caused controversy by sporting a Desert Storm baseball cap during the event in support of the U.S. and coalition war effort in Iraq.

The matches culminated in one of the single most dramatic putts in the history of golf. With only one match remaining to be completed, between Hale Irwin for the United States and Bernhard Langer for the Europeans, the United States team led by one point. Irwin and Langer came to the last hole tied. To win the cup, the American team needed Irwin to win or tie the match by winning or tying the hole. The Europeans could keep the cup with a win by Langer. Both players struggled on the hole, and found themselves facing a pair of putts. Langer had a six-foot, side-hill par putt, and Irwin had a generally uphill, 18-inch putt for bogey. To the surprise of his teammates, Langer conceded Irwin's bogey putt, leaving himself in a must-make position. Langer missed his putt, the match was halved, and the U.S. team took back the cup.

Players on both sides were driven to public tears by the pressure of the matches on the final day. The intense competition of the 1991 Ryder Cup is widely regarded as having elevated public interest in the series.

1999: Battle of Brookline

The 1999 Ryder Cup held at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, 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 the 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. With the match 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 behaviour 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 television 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 – although Europe player Sam Torrance has said in TV interviews that a TV cameraman stood on Olazábal's line while filming the invasion of the green by players and spectators). 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 Seve Ballesteros – had been guilty of excessive celebration and gamesmanship as far back as the 1985 Ryder Cup Matches, 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 behaviour 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. There were also reports that a spectator spat at James' wife.

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

2012: The Miracle of Medinah

The 39th Ryder Cup, held at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, saw an extraordinary comeback by Europe, under captain José María Olazábal of Spain. The Europeans were down 10-4 after 14 matches, with two four-ball matches still on the course and 12 singles matches to be played the next day. Despite being down 10-6 going into the final day Europe came back to win by 14½ points to 13½. Out of the 12 points up for grabs on the final day Europe won 8 1/2 points with the U.S. winning only 3 1/2 points.

Martin Kaymer struck the putt (a putt almost identical in length that fellow German Bernhard Langer missed at the 1991 Ryder Cup) that retained the cup for Europe. Francesco Molinari secured the final half-point to win the Ryder Cup outright by winning the 18th hole to halve his match against Tiger Woods. Ian Poulter of the European team finished this Ryder Cup with a perfect 4-0 record. He also played an instrumental role in team morale, with emotions pouring out during each of his matches. To date out of the last 9 Ryder Cups Europe has won 7.

Results

Cancellations and postponements

1939 Ryder Cup

The 1939 Ryder Cup, which was planned for 18–19 November at Ponte Vedra Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida, never took place due to the outbreak of World War II in Europe. Walter Hagen was chosen as non-playing captain of the United States team.

In early April 1939, the British P.G.A. chose a selection committee of six and selected Henry Cotton as captain. In August, eight players were named in the team: Cotton, Jimmy Adams, Dick Burton, Sam King, Alf Padgham, Dai Rees, Charles Whitcombe and Reg Whitcombe. Charles Whitcombe immediately withdrew from the team, not wishing to travel to the United States. With seven selected, three places were left to be filled. War was declared on 3 September and the British P.G.A. immediately cancelled the match: "The P.G.A. announce that the Ryder Cup match for this year has been cancelled by the state of war prevailing in this country. The P.G.A. of the United States is being informed."

1941, 1943 and 1945 Ryder Cups

The Ryder Cup was not played in these scheduled years due to the outbreak of the Second World War. The competition resumed at the Portland Golf Club in Portland, Oregon in 1947.

2001 Ryder Cup

The competition, which was scheduled for 28–30 September at the The Belfry's Brabazon Course, was not played because of the September 11 attacks. In 2002 the contest was played at the original venue with the same teams that had been selected to play a year earlier. The display boards at The Belfry still read "The 2001 Ryder Cup", and U.S. captain Curtis Strange deliberately referred to his team as "The 2001 Ryder Cup Team" in his speech at the closing ceremony.

It was later decided to hold the subsequent Ryder Cup in 2004 (rather than 2003) and thereafter every two years.

Summary

Overall

Team	From	To	Matches	Wins	Losses	Ties
United States	1927	2012	39	25	12	2
Europe	1979	2012	17	9	7	1
Great Britain &  Ireland	1973	1977	3	0	3	0
Great Britain	1927	1971	19	3	15	1

Although the team was referred to as Great Britain up to 1971 a number of golfers from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey and Jersey had played for Great Britain before that date. The team has been referred to as Europe since 1979, when players from continental Europe were included.

There have been a total of 900 individual matches played in the 39 Ryder Cups. Of these the United States has won 441, Europe (including Great Britain/Great Britain and Ireland up to 1977) has won 335 with 124 matches halved. Thus the United States have scored a total of 503 points to Europe's 397.

Team	All Ryder Cups				36 Hole Matches			18 Hole Matches
	Overall	Singles	Foursomes	Fourballs	Overall	Singles	Foursomes	Overall	Singles	Foursomes	Fourballs
United States won	441	224	131	86	94	61	33	347	163	98	86
Europe won	335	160	99	76	48	33	15	287	127	84	76
Halved	124	62	27	35	14	10	4	110	52	23	35
United States points	503	255	144½	103½	101	66	35	402	189	109½	103½
Europe points	397	191	112½	93½	55	38	17	342	153	95½	93½
Total	900	446	257	197	156	104	52	744	342	205	197

Europe includes Great Britain/Great Britain and Ireland up to 1977. 36 holes matches were played up to 1959, 18 hole matches from 1961 onwards. Fourball matches were first played in 1963. The table includes three 18 hole single matches (in 1979, 1991 and 1993) which were not actually played because of injury but were declared as halved matches.

Future venues

• 2014 Gleneagles Hotel, PGA Centenary Course ( Perth & Kinross, Scotland) | Official website from 26–28 September
• 2016 Hazeltine National Golf Club ( Chaska, Minnesota)
• 2018 Le Golf National, Albatros Course ( Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France) | Official website
• 2020 Whistling Straits, Straits Course ( Haven, Wisconsin)

Bidding for the 2018 Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup Europe confirmed that six countries – France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden – had announced their intention to bid for the 2018 Ryder Cup. The deadline for the submission of bids was set for 30 April 2010; Sweden withdrew from the bidding early that month, while the Spanish bidding host city of Tres Cantos showed poor popular support.

There were five bids to host the event:

• France: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines | French bid website / French golf federation bid press kit
• Germany: Neuburg/Rohrenfeld | Germany's bid website
• Portugal: Lisbon/Comporta, Alentejo Coast | Portuguese bid website
• Spain: Madrid/Guadarrama | Spain bid website
• Netherlands: Rotterdam/Lingewaal | Dutch bid website

France were announced as hosts on 17 May 2011, despite calls for the Cup to be held in Spain, as a tribute to the late Seve Ballesteros.

Records

• Most appearances on a team: 11
  ° Nick Faldo (Eur/GB&I), 1977–97
• Most points: 25
  ° Nick Faldo (Eur/GB&I) (23-19-4 record)
• Most singles points won: 7
  ° Colin Montgomerie (Eur) (6-0-2 record)
  ° Billy Casper (USA) (6-2-2 record)
  ° Lee Trevino (USA) (6-2-2 record)
  ° Arnold Palmer (USA) (6-3-2 record)
  ° Neil Coles (GB&I) (5-6-4 record)
• Most foursome points won: 11½
  ° Bernhard Langer (Eur) (11-6-1 record)
• Most fourball points won: 10½
  ° Ian Woosnam (Eur) (10-3-1 record)
  ° José María Olazábal (Eur) (9-2-3 record)
• Top point percentage (Minimum of 3 Ryder Cup Matches)
  ° Jimmy Demaret (USA) (6-0-0) 100%
  ° Jack Burke (USA) (7-1-0) 87.5%
  ° Horton Smith (USA) (3-0-1) 87.5%
  ° Walter Hagen (USA) (7-1-1) 83.3%
  ° J.C. Snead (USA) (9-2-0) 81.8%
  ° Sam Snead (USA) (10-2-1) 80.8%
  ° Ian Poulter (Eur) (12-3-0) 80.0%
• Youngest player: 19 years, 258 days
  ° Sergio García (Eur), 1999, Brookline
• Oldest player: 51 years, 20 days
  ° Raymond Floyd (USA), 1993, The Belfry
• Holes-in-one
  ° Peter Butler (GB&I), 1973, Muirfield
  ° Nick Faldo (Eur), 1993, The Belfry
  ° Costantino Rocca (Eur), 1995, Oak Hill
  ° Howard Clark (Eur), 1995, Oak Hill
  ° Paul Casey (Eur), 2006, K Club
  ° Scott Verplank (USA), 2006, K Club

Sources

Similar golf events

The following team events involve the top professional golfers:

• Presidents Cup — an event similar to the Ryder Cup, except that the competing sides are a U.S. side and an International side from the rest of the world consisting of players who are ineligible for the Ryder Cup. Held in years when there is no Ryder Cup.
• Seve Trophy — founded by Seve Ballesteros, between a team from Great Britain and Ireland against one from continental Europe. Held in years when there is no Ryder Cup.

Other team golf events between U.S. and either Europe or Great Britain and Ireland include:

• Solheim Cup — The women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, featuring the same U.S. against Europe format.
• Walker Cup — Event for amateur men between a U.S. side and a team drawn from Great Britain and Ireland.
• Curtis Cup — Women's amateur event analogous to the Walker Cup. Like the Walker Cup, the competition format is the U.S. versus Great Britain and Ireland.
• PGA Cup — A match between U.S. and Great Britain and Ireland club professionals.
• Palmer Cup — A match, named after Arnold Palmer, between U.S. and European college/university golfers.
• Junior Ryder Cup — A match between U.S. and European juniors involving both boys and girls.
• Junior Solheim Cup — A match between U.S. and European junior girls, held in conjunction with, and in the vicinity of, the Solheim Cup.