Ryder Cup

On 27 September 1920 Golf Illustrated wrote a letter to the Professional Golfers' Association of America with a suggestion that a team of 12 to 20 American professionals be chosen to play in the 1921 British Open, to be financed by popular subscription.[6] At that time no American golfer had won the British Open. The idea was that of James D. Harnett, who worked for the magazine. The PGA of America made a positive reply and the idea was announced in the November 1920 issue. The fund was called the British Open Championship Fund. By the next spring the idea had been firmed-up.[7] A team of 12 would be chosen, who would sail in time to play in a warm-up tournament at Gleneagles (the Glasgow Herald 1000 Guinea Tournament) prior to the British Open at St. Andrews, two weeks later. The team of 12 was chosen by PGA President George Sargent and PGA Secretary Alec Pirie, with the assistance of USGA Vice-President Robert Gardner.[8] A team of 11 sailed from New York on the RMS Aquitania on 24 May 1921 together with James Harnett, Harry Hampton deciding at the last minute that he could not travel.[9]

The idea for a 12-a-side International Match between the American and Great Britain professionals was reported in The Times on 17 May, with James Douglas Edgar being reported as the probable 12th player.[10] Edgar was already in the United Kingdom. The match would be played at Gleneagles on Monday 6 June, the day before the start of the 1000 Guinea Tournament. With Jim Barnes indisposed, the match eventually became a 10-a-side contest, Edgar not being required for the American team. The match consisted of 5 foursomes in the morning and 10 singles in the afternoon, played on the King's Course. The match was won by Great Britain by 9 matches to 3, 3 matches being halved.[11]

The British team was: George Duncan (captain), James Braid, Arthur Havers, Abe Mitchell, James Ockenden, Ted Ray, James Sherlock, J.H. Taylor, Josh Taylor, and Harry Vardon. The American team was: Emmet French (captain), Clarence Hackney, Walter Hagen, Charles Hoffner, Jock Hutchison, Tom Kerrigan, George McLean, Fred McLeod, Bill Mehlhorn and Wilfrid Reid. Gold medals were presented by Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl, to each member of the teams at the conclusion of the Glasgow Herald tournament on Saturday afternoon. The medals "had on one side crossed flags, The Union Jack and Stars and Stripes surmounted by the inscription "For Britain" or "For America" as the case may be, and on the other side "America v Britain. First international golf match at "The Glasgow Herald" tournament, Gleneagles, 6 June 1921"[12]

After the Glasgow Herald Tournament most of the American team travelled to St Andrews to practice for the British Open, for which qualifying began on 20 June. However, Walter Hagen and Jock Hutchison played in a tournament at Kinghorn on 14 and 15 June. Hagen had a poor first round and didn't turn up for the second day. Hutchison scored 74 and 64 and took the £50 first prize.[13] At St Andrews, Hutchison led the qualifying and then won the Open itself. So, despite losing the International Match, the American team achieved its main objective, winning the British Open.

A match between American and British amateur golfers was played at Royal Liverpool Golf Club (Hoylake) in 1921, immediately before The Amateur Championship. This match was followed by the creation of the Walker Cup, which was first played in 1922.[14] However the 1921 Gleneagles match did not immediately lead to a corresponding match between the professionals.

It was common at this time for a small number of professionals to travel to compete in each other's national championship. In 1926, a larger than usual contingent of American professionals were travelling to Britain to compete in the Open Championship, two weeks before their own Championship. In February it was announced that Walter Hagen would select a team of four American professionals (including himself) to play four British professionals in a match before the Open Championship.[15] The match would be a stroke play competition with each playing the four opposing golfers over 18 holes.[16] In mid-April it was announced that "A golf enthusiast, who name has not yet been made public" was ready to donate a cup for an annual competition.[17] Later in April it was announced that Samuel Ryder would be presenting a trophy "for annual competition between British and American professionals." with the first match to be played on 4 and 5 June "but the details are not yet decided",[18] and then in May it was announced that the match would be a match-play competition, 8-a-side, foursomes on the first day, singles on the second.[19] Eventually, at Hagen's request, 10 players competed for each team.[20] Samuel Ryder (together with his brother James) had sponsored a number of British professional events starting in 1923.[16]

The match resulted in 13–1 victory for the British team (1 match was halved). The American point was won by Bill Mehlhorn with Emmet French being all square. Medals were presented to the players by the American ambassador Alanson B. Houghton.

The match was widely reported as being for the "Ryder Cup". However Golf Illustrated for 11 June states that because of uncertainty following the general strike in May, which led to uncertainty about how many Americans would be visiting Britain, Samuel Ryder had decided to withhold the cup for a year. It has also been suggested that because Walter Hagen chose the American team rather than the American PGA, that only those Americans who had travelled to Britain to play in the Open were available for selection and that it contained a number of players born outside the United States, also contributed to the feeling that the match ought to be regarded as unofficial.[16] In addition the Americans "had only just landed in England and were not yet in full practice."[21]

The British team was: Ted Ray (Captain), Aubrey Boomer, Archie Compston, George Duncan, George Gadd, Arthur Havers, Herbert Jolly, Abe Mitchell, Fred Robson and Ernest Whitcombe. The American team was: Walter Hagen (Captain), Tommy Armour, Jim Barnes, Emmet French, Joe Kirkwood, Fred McLeod, Bill Mehlhorn, Joe Stein, Cyril Walker and Al Watrous. While all ten of the British players subsequently played in the Ryder Cup only three of the Americans did (Hagen, Mehlhorn and Watrous). Armour, Barnes, Kirkwood, McLeod and Walker were excluded by the policy of requiring players to be born in the USA while French and Stein were never selected.

The 1927 competition was organized on a much more formal basis. A Ryder Cup "Deed of Trust" was drawn up formalising the rules of the contest, while each of the PGA organisations had a selection process. In Britain Golf Illustrated launched a fund to raise £3,000 to fund professional golfers to play in the U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup. Ryder contributed £100 and, when the fund closed with a shortfall of £300, he made up the outstanding balance himself. Although not in the rules at that time, the American PGA restricted their team to those born in the United States.[22]

In early 1928 it became clear that an annual contest was not practical and so it was decided that the second contest should be in 1929 and then every two years thereafter.[16]

For the 1929 UK contest at Moortown GC, Leeds, the American PGA again restricted their team to those born in the USA but in late 1929 the Deed of Trust was revised requiring all players to be born in[24] and resident in their respective countries, as well as being members of their respective Professional Golfers' Association.[16]

The captains have always selected the players and chosen the playing order in each group of matches. When the contest involved 36-hole matches, it was usual for the captain to be one of the players. The USA only had two non-playing captains in this period: Walter Hagen in 1937 and Ben Hogan in 1949 while Great Britain had non-playing captains in 1933, 1949, 1951 and 1953. With the change to 18-hole matches and the extension to three days, it became more difficult to combine the roles of captain and player and Arnold Palmer in 1963 was the last playing captain. The captains have always been professional golfers and the only captain who never played in the Ryder Cup was J.H. Taylor, the 1933 British captain.

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.[27]

For the 2014 Ryder Cup both teams had 9 players qualifying based on performances with the remaining 3 players selected by the captain. For those players gaining automatic qualification the Europeans used a system, introduced in 2004, using two tables; one using prize money won in official European Tour events and a second based on World Ranking points gained anywhere in the world. Both tables used a 12-month qualifying period finishing at the end of August. The American system, introduced in 2008, was based on prize money earned in official PGA Tour events during the current season and prize money earned in the major championships in the previous season. The qualifying period ended after the PGA Championship.

For the 2016 Ryder Cup there were a number of changes from 2014 in the American system. The number of captain's picks was increased from three to four with the selections being made later than previously, especially moving the fourth and last pick to less than a week before the Ryder Cup, right after the completion of the Tour Championship. The qualifying events now included both the 2015 World Golf Championships events and The Players Championship, on top of the four major championships, but only included 2016 PGA Tour events actually played in 2016, thus excluded any other event played in 2015. The qualifying period was also extended because the Olympic Games had moved the timeslot for the 2016 PGA Championship which took place already at the end of July. Team Europe retained its old system of qualification and wild cards.

Tony Jacklin's golf ball used in the 1969 Ryder Cup held at Royal Birkdale Golf Club

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".[28]

With the United States and Great Britain tied at ​15 ¹⁄₂ 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. As the current holders, the rules meant that the United States retained the trophy.[29][30] "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 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."

Held at The Belfry in England, 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.

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 home-team cheering 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.

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 14½–13½ victory after trailing 10–6 at the start of the final day. The U.S. defeated Europe 8½–3½ 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, Leonard needed to earn at least 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. Leonard had made putts of 25 and 35 feet earlier in the round. Leonard holed the putt, and a wild celebration followed with other U.S. players, their wives, and a few fans running onto the green. The putt did not guarantee a half-point for Leonard since Olazábal could still hole his putt and win the last hole. However, Olazábal missed his 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, 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 criticism 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.[31] There were also reports that a spectator spat at James' wife.[32] Payne Stewart had conceded his singles match to Colin Montgomerie with both players level and on the last green in 2 shots as a response to the abuse Montgomerie had received throughout the match.[33]

Following the 1999 Ryder Cup, many members of the U.S. team apologised for their behavior, and there were numerous attempts by both teams to calm the increasing nationalism of the event.[34][35]

The 39th Ryder Cup was held at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. 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. At the end of day two, Ian Poulter made 5 birdies on the final 5 holes to give him and Rory McIlroy the point over Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson. Despite being down 10–6 going into the final day Europe came back to win by ​14 ¹⁄₂ points to ​13 ¹⁄₂.[36] Out of the 12 points available on the final day Europe won ​8 ¹⁄₂ points with the U.S. winning only ​3 ¹⁄₂ points. In terms of points this feat matched the Americans' 1999 comeback at Brookline Country Club.

Martin Kaymer struck the putt that retained the cup for Europe. The putt was almost identical in length to the one that fellow German Bernhard Langer missed at the 1991 Ryder Cup. 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.

The 1939 Ryder Cup was planned for 18–19 November at Ponte Vedra Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida; Walter Hagen was chosen as non-playing captain of the U.S. team. The competition was cancelled shortly after the outbreak of World War II in Europe in September. It would have been the first Ryder Cup to be held in Florida; the competition was not held there until 1983.

In early April 1939, the British P.G.A. chose a selection committee of six and selected Henry Cotton as captain.[37] 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.[38] Charles Whitcombe immediately withdrew from the team,[39] 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."[40][41]

The Ryder Cup was not played in these scheduled years due to the war; by the fall of 1945, many members of the British team were still in the military.[42] After a decade-long absence, it resumed in November 1947 at the Portland Golf Club in Portland, Oregon.

The competition, scheduled for 28–30 September at The Belfry's Brabazon Course, was postponed a year because of the September 11 terrorist attacks. "The PGA of America has informed the European Ryder Cup Board that the scope of the last Tuesday's tragedy is so overwhelming that it would not be possible for the United States Ryder Cup team and officials to attend the match this month."[43] The manager of Phil Mickelson and Mark Calcavecchia had earlier announced that the two players would not travel to Europe. Other American players were said to be concerned about attending the event. It was played in 2002 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 in even-numbered years. This change also affected the men's Presidents Cup and Seve Trophy and women's Solheim Cup competitions, as each switched from even to odd years.

In July 2020, Ryder Cup, scheduled to be held at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, was postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[44] As a consequence, editions of the Ryder Cup will again take place in odd-numbered years from 2021, as was the case up to 1999.

Team	From	To	Matches	Wins	Losses	Ties
United States	1927	2018	42	26	14	2
Great Britain/  Great Britain &  Ireland	1927	1977	22	3	18	1
Europe	1979	2018	20	11	8	1

Although the team was referred to as "Great Britain" up to 1971, a number of golfers from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey and Jersey had played for Great Britain before that date. In 1973, the official team name was changed to "Great Britain and Ireland,” but this was simply a change of name to reflect the fact that golfers from the Republic of Ireland had played in the "Great Britain" Ryder Cup team since Harry Bradshaw in 1953, while Northern Irish players had competed since Fred Daly in 1947.

The team in place of the original "Great Britain" team has been referred to as "Europe" since 1979, when players from continental Europe were included. Since then, the "United States" team has won 8 matches and the "Europe" team has won 11 matches, while retaining the Ryder Cup once with a tie.

#	Year	Dates [lower-alpha 1]	Winners	Score	Host location	Course	U.S. captain	European captain	U.S. top point scorer[lower-alpha 2]	European top point scorer[lower-alpha 2]
United States v Europe (1979 to present)
43rd	2020[lower-alpha 3] 2021	24– 26 Sep			Wisconsin  United States	Whistling Straits, Haven	Steve Stricker	Pádraig Harrington
42nd	2018	28– 30 Sep	Europe	17½– 10½	France  Europe	Le Golf National, Île-de-France	Jim Furyk	Thomas Bjørn	Thomas 4 / 5	Molinari 5 / 5
41st	2016	30 Sep– 2 Oct	United States	17– 11	Minnesota  United States	Hazeltine National Golf Club, Carver County	Davis Love III	Darren Clarke	Reed 3.5 / 5	Pieters 4 / 5
40th	2014	26– 28 Sep	Europe	16½– 11½	Scotland  Europe	Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire	Tom Watson	Paul McGinley	Reed 3.5 / 4	Rose 4 / 5
39th	2012	28– 30 Sep	Europe	14½– 13½	Illinois  United States	Medinah Country Club (No. 3), DuPage County	Davis Love III	José María Olazábal	Johnson 3 / 3	Poulter 4 / 4
38th	2010	1– 4 Oct	Europe	14½– 13½	Wales  Europe	Celtic Manor Resort, Newport	Corey Pavin	Colin Montgomerie	Stricker; Woods 3 / 4	Donald; Poulter 3 / 4
37th	2008	19– 21 Sep	United States	16½– 11½	Kentucky  United States	Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville	Paul Azinger	Nick Faldo	Mahan 3.5 / 5	Poulter 4 / 5
36th	2006	22– 24 Sep	Europe	18½– 9½	Ireland  Europe	K Club, County Kildare	Tom Lehman	Ian Woosnam	Woods 3 / 5	García; Westwood 4 / 5
35th	2004	17– 19 Sep	Europe	18½– 9½	Michigan  United States	Oakland Hills Country Club, Oakland County	Hal Sutton	Bernhard Langer	DiMarco 2.5 / 4	García; Westwood 4.5 / 5
34th	2001[lower-alpha 4] 2002	27– 29 Sep	Europe	15½– 12½	England  Europe	The Belfry, Warwickshire	Curtis Strange	Sam Torrance	Toms 3.5 / 5	Montgomerie 4.5 / 5
33rd	1999	24– 26 Sep	United States	14½– 13½	Massachusetts  United States	The Country Club (Brookline), Norfolk County	Ben Crenshaw	Mark James	Sutton 3.5 / 5	García; Lawrie; Montgomerie; Parnevik 3.5 / 5
32nd	1997	26– 28 Sep	Europe	14½– 13½	Spain  Europe	Valderrama Golf Club, Andalusia	Tom Kite	Seve Ballesteros	Hoch 2.5 / 3	Montgomerie 3.5 / 5
31st	1995	22– 24 Sep	Europe	14½– 13½	New York  United States	Oak Hill Country Club, Monroe County	Lanny Wadkins	Bernard Gallacher	Pavin 4 / 5	Gilford 3 / 4
30th	1993	24– 26 Sep	United States	15– 13	England  Europe	The Belfry, Warwickshire	Tom Watson	Bernard Gallacher	Floyd; Stewart 3 / 4	Woosnam 4.5 / 5
29th	1991	27– 29 Sep	United States	14½– 13½	South Carolina  United States	Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Charleston County	Dave Stockton	Bernard Gallacher	Couples; Wadkins 3.5 / 5	Ballesteros 4.5 / 5
28th	1989	22– 24 Sep	Tied  Europe retains	14– 14	England  Europe	The Belfry, Warwickshire	Raymond Floyd	Tony Jacklin	Beck 3.5 / 4	Olazábal 4.5 / 5
27th	1987	25– 27 Sep	Europe	15– 13	Ohio  United States	Muirfield Village, Franklin County	Jack Nicklaus	Tony Jacklin	Kite; Sutton 3 / 5	Ballesteros 4 / 5
26th	1985	13– 15 Sep	Europe	16½– 11½	England  Europe	The Belfry, Warwickshire	Lee Trevino	Tony Jacklin	Stadler; Wadkins 3 / 5	Piñero 4 / 5
25th	1983	14– 16 Oct	United States	14½– 13½	Florida  United States	PGA National Golf Club, Palm Beach County	Jack Nicklaus	Tony Jacklin	Watson 4 / 5	Faldo; Langer 4 / 5
24th	1981	18– 20 Sep	United States	18½– 9½	England  Europe	Walton Heath Golf Club, Surrey	Dave Marr	John Jacobs	Nelson; Nicklaus; Trevino 4 / 4	Piñero 2 / 4
23rd	1979	14– 16 Sep	United States	17– 11	West Virginia  United States	The Greenbrier, Greenbrier County	Billy Casper	John Jacobs	Nelson 5 / 5	Gallacher 4 / 5
United States v Great Britain & Ireland (1973 to 1977)
22nd	1977	15– 17 Sep	United States	12½– 7½	England GB & I	Royal Lytham & St Annes, Lancashire	Dow Finsterwald	Brian Huggett	Wadkins 3 / 3	Faldo 3 / 3
21st	1975	19– 21 Sep	United States	21– 11	Pennsylvania  United States	Laurel Valley Golf Club, Westmoreland County	Arnold Palmer	Bernard Hunt	Irwin 4.5 / 5	Oosterhuis 3.5 / 6
20th	1973	20– 22 Sep	United States	19– 13	Scotland GB & I	Muirfield, East Lothian	Jack Burke Jr.	Bernard Hunt	Nicklaus 4.5 / 6	Oosterhuis 4 / 6
United States v Great Britain (1923 to 1971)
19th	1971	16– 18 Sep	United States	18½– 13½	Missouri  United States	Old Warson Country Club, St. Louis	Jay Hebert	Eric Brown	Palmer 4.5 / 6	Gallacher 3.5 / 5
18th	1969	18– 20 Sep	Tied  United States retains	16– 16	England Great Britain	Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Merseyside	Sam Snead	Eric Brown	Hill 4 / 6	Jacklin 5 / 6
17th	1967	20– 22 Oct	United States	23½– 8½	Texas  United States	Champions Golf Club, Houston	Ben Hogan	Dai Rees	Palmer; Dickinson 5 / 5	Thomas 3 / 5
16th	1965	7– 9 Oct	United States	19½– 12½	England Great Britain	Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Merseyside	Byron Nelson	Harry Weetman	Lema 5 / 6	Alliss 5 / 6
15th	1963	11– 13 Oct	United States	23– 9	Georgia  United States	Atlanta Athletic Club, Atlanta	Arnold Palmer	John Fallon	Casper 4.5 / 5	Huggett 2.5 / 5
14th	1961	13– 14 Oct	United States	14½– 9½	England Great Britain	Royal Lytham & St Annes, Lancashire	Jerry Barber	Dai Rees	Palmer 3.5 / 4	Rees 3 / 4
13th	1959	6– 7 Nov	United States	8½– 3½	California  United States	Eldorado Country Club Indian Wells	Sam Snead	Dai Rees	Finsterwald; Rosburg; Souchak 2 / 2	Alliss 1.5 / 2
12th	1957	4– 5 Oct	Great Britain	7½– 4½	England Great Britain	Lindrick Golf Club, Nottinghamshire	Jack Burke Jr.	Dai Rees	Mayer 1.5 / 2	Bousfield; Rees 2 / 2
11th	1955	5– 6 Nov	United States	8– 4	California  United States	Thunderbird Country Club, Riverside County	Chick Harbert	Dai Rees	Bolt; Burke Jr.; Ford; Snead 2 / 2	Jacobs 2 / 2
10th	1953	2– 3 Oct	United States	6½– 5½	England Great Britain	Wentworth Club, Surrey	Lloyd Mangrum	Henry Cotton	Burke Jr. 2 / 2	Bradshaw; Daly 2 / 2
9th	1951	2– 4 Nov	United States	9½– 2½	North Carolina  United States	Pinehurst Resort (No. 2), Moore County	Sam Snead	Arthur Lacey	Burke Jr.; Demaret; Hogan; Mangrum; Snead 2 / 2	Lees 2 / 2
8th	1949	16– 17 Sep	United States	7– 5	England Great Britain	Ganton Golf Club; Yorkshire	Ben Hogan	Charles Whitcombe	Demaret; Heafner 2 / 2	Adams 2 / 2
7th	1947	1– 2 Nov	United States	11– 1	Oregon  United States	Portland Golf Club, Portland	Ben Hogan	Henry Cotton	Demaret; Mangrum; Nelson; Oliver; Snead; Worsham 2 / 2	King 1 / 2
1939, 1941, 1943, and 1945: No Ryder Cups because of World War II
6th	1937	29– 30 Jun	United States	8– 4	England Great Britain	Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, Merseyside	Walter Hagen	Charles Whitcombe	Dudley; Guldahl 2 / 2	Rees 1.5 / 2
5th	1935	28– 29 Sep	United States	9– 3	New Jersey  United States	Ridgewood Country Club, Bergen County	Walter Hagen	Charles Whitcombe	Picard; Revolta; Runyan; Sarazen 2 / 2	Whitcombe 1 / 1
4th	1933	25– 26 Jun	Great Britain	6½– 5½	England Great Britain	Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, Merseyside	Walter Hagen	John Henry Taylor	Hagen; Sarazen 1.5 / 2	Easterbrook; Havers; Mitchell 2 / 2
3rd	1931	26– 27 Jun	United States	9– 3	Ohio  United States	Scioto Country Club, Upper Arlington	Walter Hagen	Charles Whitcombe	Burke; Cox; Hagen; Sarazen; Shute; 2 / 2	Davies; Havers; Mitchell; Robson 1 / 2
2nd	1929	26– 27 Apr	Great Britain	7– 5	England Great Britain	Moortown Golf Club, Yorkshire	Walter Hagen	George Duncan	Diegel 2 / 2	Compston; Whitcombe 1.5 / 2
1st	1927	3– 4 Jun	United States	9½– 2½	Massachusetts  United States	Worcester Country Club, Worcester County	Walter Hagen	Ted Ray	Farrell; Golden; Hagen; Watrous 2 / 2	Whitcombe 1.5 / 2

Reference : 2014 Media Guide;[45] Ryder Cup website[46]

In 2001 the PGA European Tour decided to put out the Ryder Cup hosting rights from 2018 through 2030 to a competitive bid process throughout Europe.[48]