Ryder Cup

A £250 commission and a doctor's prescription for golf: the most coveted trophy in the sport began with a seed merchant's hunch.

English seed merchant Samuel Ryder watched an informal match between British and American professionals at Wentworth and saw something worth formalising. Ryder, a keen amateur golfer who had taken up the game on doctor's orders at the age of 50, commissioned a gold trophy from Mappin & Webb costing £250. The small golden chalice, topped with a figure of Ryder's friend and golf tutor Abe Mitchell, would become one of the most coveted prizes in sport.

America won on home soil by nine and a half points to two and a half; a lopsided start, but the match had found its footing.

The inaugural Ryder Cup took place at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts on 3-4 June 1927. The American team, captained by Walter Hagen, defeated the Great Britain team led by Ted Ray by 9½ to 2½. The format comprised four 36-hole foursomes on day one and eight 36-hole singles on day two. It was a comprehensive home victory, but the contest had found its footing.

Samuel Ryder himself handed over the trophy as Britain triumphed 7-5 on home soil for the very first time.

The Cup crossed the Atlantic for the first time, and Moortown Golf Club in Leeds hosted a British triumph. George Duncan led the charge in the singles, and the home side won 7-5. Samuel Ryder himself presented the trophy. The biennial rhythm of the contest was established: alternating between American and British venues, a tradition that endures to this day.

Nicklaus holed his own putt first, then gifted Jacklin the match; a gesture that turned a tied scoreline into a legend.

At Royal Birkdale, the entire contest came down to the final singles match between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin. With both men on the 18th green, Nicklaus holed a tricky four-footer for par, then picked up Jacklin's ball marker, conceding a two-foot putt that meant the match was halved 16-16. "I don't think you would have missed that putt," Nicklaus told Jacklin, "but I was not going to give you the chance." It remains the defining moment of Ryder Cup sportsmanship.

America had won 18 of 22 matches before Nicklaus himself suggested widening the door.

At the suggestion of Jack Nicklaus, the competition was expanded from Great Britain and Ireland to include all of continental Europe. The change, first implemented at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, was designed to make the contest more competitive after decades of American dominance. The US had won 18 of the previous 22 editions. It took a few years for the new European team to find its stride, but the shift would prove transformative.

Twenty-eight years of waiting ended the moment Jacklin decided his players deserved Concorde and cashmere.

Under the captaincy of Tony Jacklin, and powered by Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam, Europe won 16½ to 11½ at The Belfry. It was the first non-American victory since 1957. Jacklin had insisted on first-class travel, cashmere sweaters and Concorde flights for his team, reasoning that if they were to beat the Americans, they needed to feel like equals. The result changed the Ryder Cup permanently. From this point on, it was a genuine contest.

Four points down with one day left, the Americans turned Brookline into the most emotionally raw afternoon in Ryder Cup history.

Trailing 10-6 heading into the final day singles at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, the United States staged the largest final-day comeback in Ryder Cup history. Justin Leonard's 45-foot birdie putt on the 17th against José María Olazábal triggered a premature pitch invasion by American players, wives and fans, while Olazábal still had a putt to halve the hole. The scenes were widely criticised, but the drama cemented the Ryder Cup's status as one of sport's most emotionally charged occasions.

Eight and a half points from twelve singles; Europe refused to read the script.

Trailing 10-6 going into Sunday's singles at Medinah Country Club near Chicago, Europe needed to win 8 of the 12 singles matches. They won 8½. Martin Kaymer holed the decisive putt on the 18th to clinch the Cup, and Ian Poulter's extraordinary form throughout the weekend, winning all four of his matches, earned him the nickname "The Postman" for always delivering. Captain José María Olazábal had placed Seve Ballesteros's image in the team room; Ballesteros had died the previous year. The emotional weight of the comeback made it arguably the greatest day in Ryder Cup history.

Tommy Fleetwood did not lose a single match; four played, four won.

Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome hosted the 44th Ryder Cup, the first ever staged in Italy. Luke Donald's European team dominated from the opening session, eventually winning 16½ to 11½. Rory McIlroy was at the centre of the drama, clashing with American caddie Joe LaCava in a heated exchange that underlined the intensity of the modern contest. Tommy Fleetwood was Europe's standout performer, winning all four of his matches. The Italian crowds brought a football-like fervour that added a new dimension to the occasion's atmosphere.

A public course that actively discourages average golfers will host the most ferocious Ryder Cup crowd America can muster.

The 2025 Ryder Cup takes place at Bethpage Black on Long Island, New York, from 26-28 September. The public course, famous for its warning sign that the Black Course is "an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers," previously hosted the US Open in 2002, 2009 and 2019. Keegan Bradley captains the American team, while Luke Donald returns as European captain. The New York crowds are expected to create one of the most intense atmospheres in Ryder Cup history.