Home > Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup Matches involve various matchplay matches between players selected from two teams of 12. In 2002, those games consisted of 8 foursomes matches, 8 fourball matches and 12 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 a competition between two teams of two golfers. All four golfers play their own ball throughout the round. Each hole is won by the team whose individual golfer had 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 play on Friday and Saturday. The captain can select any eight players for each round.

1 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 a club in Toledo, 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. A spectator at the second game, Samuel Ryder , saw the potential of the competition and persuaded the two captains to reform their teams in 1927 for the first official Cup. Ryder, who donated a gold cup and had agreed to pay £5 to each of the winning team, attached his name to the new competition.

Equivalent events are:

• Solheim Cup — The women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, featuring the same U.S. vs. Europe format.
• President's Cup — Men's event, held in odd-numbered years, with the same format as the Ryder Cup, except that the competing sides are a U.S. side and an International side consisting entirely of players whose citizenship makes them ineligible for the Ryder Cup.
• Walker Cup — Event for amateur men. Unlike the Ryder Cup, the Walker Cup has never adopted a U.S.-Europe format. The U.S. side is opposed by a team drawn from Great Britain and Ireland.
• Curtis Cup — Women's amateur event directly analogous to the Walker Cup. Like the Walker Cup, the competition format is U.S. vs. Great Britain and Ireland.
• UBS Cup — Men's event similar to the Ryder Cup and President's Cup. The competing sides are USA and Rest of the World. Six golfers on each side must be 50 or over, and the remaining six must be in their forties.
• The Seve Trophy — A European professional men's event, founded by Seve BallesterosSeveriano "Seve" Ballesteros (born 9 April 1957 in Pedrena, Spain) is a Spanish golfer who was one of the sport's leading figures in the 1980s and 1990s. He learned the game while playing on the beaches near his home, mainly using a 3-iron given to him by, that pits a side from Great Britain and Ireland against one from continental Europe.