Ryder Cup History
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The Ryder Cup has been held every two years since 1927, with exception of 2001, due to the terrorist attacks in the United States and in 1937-1947 due to World War II. Ryder Cup history began as an informal competition between the United States and British golfers, but their interaction goes back further than 1927.
Ryder Cup history books show that in 1921, British and American golfers played a series of matches at Gleneagles in Scotland, prior to the British Open. The Walker Cup marked an important time in Ryder Cup history, even before it was established as the Ryder Cup. The Walker Cup was a British/American amateur golf team competition, and talk began about establishing a competition for professional golfers. In steps Samuel Ryder.
Another entry in the Ryder Cup history books states that in 1925, a London newspaper mentioned that Samuel Ryder had proposed an annual competition between British and American professional golfers. Ryder was an avid golfer and business man; he made his fortune from selling seeds, and was the person that came up with the idea of selling seeds in small packages or envelopes. Ryder commissioned a trophy for the Ryder Cup, and it ended up being the Ryder Cup trophy.
After the 1926 pre-Ryder Cup, the captains from each team and Samuel Ryder met, and came to the conclusion that team members (on both teams) would have to be native-born (later changed to having citizenship, a first in Ryder Cup history). Also discussed in the historic Ryder Cup meeting; the Ryder Cup matches would have to take place every other year. The first official Ryder Cup in Ryder Cup history was at Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts. The first team captains in this historic Ryder Cup match were Ted Ray for the Great Britain team and Walter Hagen for the United States team. This time around, each team was composed of native-born players only. The United States won the first competition in Ryder Cup history, 9 ½ to 2 ½. The first Ryder Cup trophy in Ryder Cup history was presented to the Americans.
This historic Ryder Cup only featured “foursomes” (a Ryder Cup “foursomes” match is a competition between two teams of two golfers. Golfers on the same team take alternate shots throughout the match; with the same ball) and singles. All Ryder Cup matches were 36 holes, and four “foursome” matches were played on the first day, followed by eight singles matches on the second day. 12 points were at stake during this historic Ryder Cup, and the format stayed in place until 1961.
The team play in the Ryder Cup has a long and storied history. 1973 was the year that the Ireland professional golfers were added to the Great Britain team. Once the Great Britain team gained the competitive balance, the Ryder Cup was a better competition to watch and participate in. The 1933 Ryder Cup matches featured the greatest match up of captains in Ryder Cup history, with Walter Hagen anchoring the United States team and J.H. Taylor shoring the Great Britain and Irish team (GB&I). Taylor and the GB&I team won the Ryder Cup 6 ½ to 5 ½; one of the closest Ryder Cup competitions in Ryder Cup history. The GB&I team would not win again until 1957. That GB&I victory was the only GB&I victory in Ryder Cup history from 1933 to 1985. US Ryder Cup tournament dominance was established.
The United States’ dominance in previous Ryder Cup history led to the British and Irish Ryder Cup team expanding to an all-Europe Ryder Cup team in 1979. The historic Ryder Cup team expansion brought the success of Spanish golfers, as Severiano Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido were the first Spaniards in Ryder Cup history to play in the Ryder Cup. Since 1979, the historic Ryder Cup European team has been represented by professional golf players from: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. The Ryder Cup team expansion on the European side also brought more competitive match play and established European superiority in 1985, as the US Ryder Cup team did, post World War II. Examples of this new European dominance in Ryder Cup history would be Team Europe’s wins in 1985, 1987, and 1989 because of a tie (previous Ryder Cup winner retains the Ryder Cup). Between 1985 and 2006, in Ryder Cup history, Team Europe has won Ryder Cup titles eight times, and Team United States has won the Ryder Cup title three times, with a loosing tie in 1989.
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