Friday will mark the start of the 44th edition of the Ryder Cup. And while the biennial matches have only been played 44 times, that’s still nearly 100 years of history to look back on, accounting for years skipped.
The matches were founded by its namesake, Samuel Ryder, an English businessman, in the 1926. Ryder helped organize a match between 10 of the best golfers from Britain and 10 American golfers chosen by Walter Hagen in the weeks leading up to that year’s Open Championship.
Ultimately the match, which was a resounding 13-1 victory for the British, wasn’t officially the first Ryder Cup. That honor fell to the 1927 matches in Worcester, Mass., where the Ryder Cup “Deed of Trust” was drawn up, and formal selection processes were created by the participating PGA organizations.
Sadly, Ryder was unable to attend the first official matches due to poor health at the time, but he was still responsible for the creation of the Ryder Cup trophy, which is still in use today.
It was decided the following year that an annual match would be impractical, thus establishing the current biennial cadence.
The original matches pit together a team from the United States and a team from Great Britain. The first four matches were won by the home team, but starting with the 1937 matches and continuing after a pause for World War II, the U.S. went on a run of dominance, winning or retaining the Cup 13 out of 14 times.
As players arrive at Ryder Cup, little mysteries hide in plain sight
Then in 1979, the present-day Ryder Cup was born with the inclusion of all of continental Europe on a new European team in addition Great Britain and Ireland.
In 1985, led by stalwarts like Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer, the Europeans reclaimed the Cup for the first time since 1957 .The popularity of matches skyrocketed in the years since as Europe has gone on a run of its own, winning 12 of the last 18 matches.
Overall, the U.S. team still leads the all-time series 27-14-2, with the American side retaining the Cup during one of those ties.
Here are the results of each of the previous Ryder Cups, along with some notable matches.
Ryder Cup history, results
1st Ryder Cup: 1927
Location: Worcester Country Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 9.5-2.5
2nd Ryder Cup: 1929
Location: Moortown Golf Club, England
Result: Great Britain wins, 7-5
3rd Ryder Cup: 1931
Location: Scioto Country Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 9-3
4th Ryder Cup: 1933
Location: Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, England
Result: Great Britain wins, 6.5-5.5
5th Ryder Cup: 1935
Location: Ridgewood Country Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 9-3
6th Ryder Cup: 1937
Location: Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, England
Result: U.S. wins, 8-4
7th Ryder Cup: 1947
Location: Portland Golf Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 11-1
8th Ryder Cup: 1949
Location: Ganton Golf Club, England
Result: U.S. wins, 7-5
9th Ryder Cup: 1951
Location: Pinehurst Resort (No. 2), USA
Result: U.S. wins, 9.5-2.5
10th Ryder Cup: 1953
Location: Wentworth Club, England
Result: U.S. wins, 6.5-5.5
11th Ryder Cup: 1955
Location: Thunderbird Country Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 8-4
12th Ryder Cup: 1957
Location: Lindrick Golf Club, England
Result: Great Britain wins, 7.5-4.5
U.S. Ryder Cup roster: Meet the American golfers competing in Rome
13th Ryder Cup: 1959
Location: Eldorado Country Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 8.5-3.5
14th Ryder Cup: 1961
Location: Royal Lytham & St Annes, England
Result: U.S. wins, 14.5-9.5
15th Ryder Cup: 1963
Location: Atlanta Athletic Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 23-9
16th Ryder Cup: 1965
Location: Royal Birkdale Golf Club, England
Result: U.S. wins, 19.5-12.5
17th Ryder Cup: 1967
Location: Champions Golf Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 23.5-8.5
18th Ryder Cup: 1969
Location: Royal Birkdale Golf Club, England
Result: Tie, U.S. retains Cup 16-16
The concession: With Europe having won just one Cup in the last 13 matches, tensions were high during the 1969 edition at Royal Birkdale. The whole week was marred in poor sportsmanship, with Great Britain’s captain, Eric Brown, instructing his team not to search for American golf balls. There was another instance of American Ken Still deliberately standing too close to Maurice Bembridge as he was putting.
But it ended with one of the greatest acts of sportsmanship in the history of the game. With the score tied on the final day, Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin were the lone match yet to be decided. After Nicklaus made his five-foot birdie putt on the final hole, he conceded Jacklin’s own two-foot birdie try.
“I don’t think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity,” Nicklaus told Jacklin afterward.
The match was declared a tie, the first in Ryder Cup history, and the U.S. retained the Cup.
19th Ryder Cup: 1971
Location: Old Warson Country Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 18.5-13.5
20th Ryder Cup: 1973
Location: Muirfield, Scotland
Result: U.S. wins, 19-13
21st Ryder Cup: 1975
Location: Laurel Valley Golf Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 12.5-7.5
European Ryder Cup roster: Meet the golfers headed to Rome
22nd Ryder Cup: 1977
Location: Royal Lytham & St Annes, England
Result: U.S. wins, 21-11
23rd Ryder Cup: 1979*
Location: The Greenbrier, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 17-11
*First match allowing all of continental Europe to compete.
24th Ryder Cup: 1981
Location: Walton Heath Golf Club, England
Result: U.S. wins, 18.5-9.5
25th Ryder Cup: 1983
Location: PGA National Golf Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 14.5-13.5
26th Ryder Cup: 1985
Location: The Belfry (Brabazon), England
Result: Europe wins, 16.5-11.5
27th Ryder Cup: 1987
Location: Muirfield Village, USA
Result: Europe wins, 15-13
28th Ryder Cup: 1989
Location: The Belfry (Brabazon), England
Result: Tie, Europe retains Cup, 14-14
29th Ryder Cup: 1991
Location: Kiawah Island Golf Resort (Ocean), USA
Result: U.S. wins, 14.5-13.5
The War on the Shore: With American frustrations at an all-time high after losing two straight Cups and then tying a third, tensions boiled over in 1991. A feud that started in 1989 between Paul Azinger and Seve Ballesteros didn’t help matters as the chippy matches were labeled “The War on the Shore” by the media. Ultimately, Bernhard Langer missed a 6-foot par putt on the final hole of his singles match against Hale Irwin after giving Irwin his bogey putt to halve the match and give the Cup back to the Americans.
30th Ryder Cup: 1993
Location: The Belfry (Brabazon), England
Result: U.S. wins, 15-13
31th Ryder Cup: 1995
Location: Oak Hill Country Club (East)
Result: Europe wins, 14.5-13.5
32nd Ryder Cup: 1997
Location: Valderrama Golf Club, England
Result: Europe wins, 14.5-13.5
33rd Ryder Cup: 1999
Location: The Country Club (Championship), USA
Result: U.S. wins, 14.5-13.5
The Battle of Brookline: With the Americans trailing 10-6 heading into singles play, the U.S. turned in a remarkable comeback on singles Sunday. By the time Justin Leonard and Jose Maria Olazabal made it to the 17th hole of their match, Leonard needed only to secure a half point for the Americans to win the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1993. Miraculously, Leonard holed a 45-footer for birdie on 17 which sent the U.S. team and the crowd into a frenzy as they mobbed the green, assuming Leonard had just won the Cup for the Americans. Except he didn’t as Olazabal still had a birdie putt to halve the hole, which he missed. There was another, more subdued celebration afterward, but Leonard was only 1 up with one to play and they still had to play the final hole, despite the result having been decided. Olazabal birdied the 18th to halve the singles match. In the aftermath, many of the U.S. team members apologized for their behavior and committed to softening the increasing nationalism of the event.
34th Ryder Cup: 2002
Location: The Belfry (Brabazon), England
Result: Europe wins, 15.5-12.5
35th Ryder Cup: 2004
Location: Oakland Hills Country Club (South), USA
Result: Europe wins, 18.5-9.5
36th Ryder Cup: 2006
Location: K Club (Palmer North), Ireland
Result: Europe wins, 18.5-9.5
37th Ryder Cup: 2008
Location: Valhalla Golf Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 16.5-11.5
38th Ryder Cup: 2010
Location: Celtic Manor Resort (The Twenty Ten), Wales
Result: Europe wins, 16.5-11.5
39th Ryder Cup: 2012
Location: Medinah Country Club (No. 3), USA
Result: Europe wins, 14.5-13.5
The Miracle at Medinah: Thirteen years after Brookline, the Europeans mounted a historic Sunday surge of their own. Also down 10-6 heading into singles, Europe won 8.5 points in the final session. Martin Kaymer, who was a somewhat controversial captain’s pick after struggling for much of the season, made a 6-foot putt on the 18th hole of his match against Steve Stricker to assure Europe would at least retain the Cup. Francesco Molinari then halved his match with Tiger Woods for the Europeans to win it outright.
40th Ryder Cup: 2014
Location: Gleneagles Hotel (PGA Centenary), Scotland
Result: Europe wins, 16.5-11.5
41st Ryder Cup: 2016
Location: Hazeltine National Golf Club, USA
Result: U.S. wins, 17-11
42nd Ryder Cup: 2018
Location: Le Golf National (Albatros), France
Result: Europe wins, 17.5-10.5
42nd Ryder Cup: 2018
Location: Le Golf National (Albatros), France
Result: Europe wins, 17.5-10.5
43nd Ryder Cup: 2021
Location: Whistling Straits (Straits), USA
Result: U.S. wins, 19-9