The Ryder Cup of Golf
The Ryder Cup is a contest that is held every 2 years
between the PGA tours of Europe and the United States.
Samuel Ryder was an English entrepreneur and also a keen
golfer who funded an international golf competition in 1926.
While watching this competition he thought it would be a
good idea to make the match a regular event. So he donated a
gold trophy, and in 1927, after the trophy was named after
him, the first official Ryder Cup competition was played in
Massachusetts between teams from the USA and the UK. After a
long period of US domination in the Ryder Cup, in 1979 the
UK team was extended to include Europe and since then the
competition has been a lot closer.
Both Ryder Cup teams are made up of 12 players and are
captained by an experienced golfer from their respective
countries. The majority of both teams are made up from the
top players on each tour's order of merit, the exception
being that the captain's are allowed a number of picks. At
present, the US captain has 4 picks while his European
counterpart has 2.
Currently, the format of the Ryder Cup is played over 3
days. On days 1 and 2 there are 4 foursome matches and 4
fourball matches. The team playing at home gets to choose
whether they play foursomes or fourballs in the morning or
afternoon. A foursome match has 2 players from each team and
the players play alternate shots. Player 1 on each team tees
off, and player 2 takes the second shot and continues like
this until the hole is completed. In the fourballs, there
are still 2 players on each team but they play their own
balls this time until the hole is completed. On day 3 there
are 12 singles matches. With 1 point available for a win and
? point available if the match is drawn the magic number to
reach is 14 ? points to win the trophy outright. The present
holders of the trophy will retain it with 14 points. All
matches are played as matchplay as opposed to stroke play.
A lot of changes have been made to the Ryder Cup over the
years, but it is still one of the most exciting and hard
fought competitions in the golfing world. The USA team are
the current holders of the trophy, but the European team
will be bidding to win it back when the next event takes
place at Celtic Manor golf club in Wales.
Gordon Simpson. http://reduceyourgolfhandicap.blogspot.com/
A blog for the everyday golfer. Recent news and advice about
all things golf. Visit my website above for more
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