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With Tiger Woods’ 2010 troubles, both on and off the links, and especially his weak showing at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, U.S. Ryder Cup team leader Corey Pavin has a tough call to make: cut the world’s most famous (and infamous) golfer, because of his recent poor play, even though he’s still ranked number one on the PGA tour, or keep him on and hope for a resurgence by the time play opens on October 1 in Newport, Wales.

But what, exactly, is the “Ryder Cup,” and how does the U.S. have a team (let alone a captain) when golf is supposed to be an individual sport?

History

The founding of this tournament dates back to the early 1920s, when the idea for a US-UK golf match was proposed tentatively a couple of times, finally catching on in 1926 when English seed merchant and amateur golf enthusiast Samuel Ryder watched a match played outside London at the Wentworth Club, and decided to sponsor the event officially, including an appropriate trophy––the Ryder Cup.

The first official Ryder Cup match was played the next year at the Country Club in Worcester, MA, and has been played every other year since, except for the War years 1939-1945, when there were a series of “challenge” matches held from 1940-43, but no official tournament. Play in 2001 was delayed after September 11, and rescheduled for the next year, resulting in the switch from odd to even years for the Cup.

The U.S.-U.K. format was unchanged until 1973 when players from the Republic of Ireland were included on the U.K. team. The final change came at Jack Nicklaus’ suggestion in 1977. Due to lopsided U.S. victories (18 wins out of 22 tournaments by 1977) Nicklaus felt other European players should join their British peers to give more competitive balance.

This change has, indeed, led to better competition (including some controversial matches in the ‘90s), culminating in back-to-back-to-back wins for the European team from 2002-2006. Additionally, new courses have been opened up, as the tournament was held in Spain in 1997, and will be held on the Continent again in 2018 (location to be determined).

Format

Each team is composed of 12 players, 8 based on prize monies won over that year’s and previous year’s tournaments (weighted to give more value for wins at major championships like the U.S. Open). The team captain selects the remaining four members.

Once in play, these 12-man teams are broken down into foursomes of two-man U.S. vs. two-man European pairings. These pairs currently play against each other in a variety of match types:

Foursome matches – Golfers on the same team take alternate turns hitting the same ball. The hole is won by the team with the fewest shots. (Total of eight matches played)

matches – Golfers on the same team take alternate turns hitting the same ball. The hole is won by the team with the fewest shots. (Total of eight matches played) Fourball matches – All four golfers play their own individual ball, instead of alternating. The hole is won based on the golfer with the lowest score for that particular hole. (Total of eight matches played)

matches – All four golfers play their own individual ball, instead of alternating. The hole is won based on the golfer with the lowest score for that particular hole. (Total of eight matches played) Singles matches – Standard match play between two golfers, one from each team (Total of 12 matches played)

Points are awarded for winning a match (1 point) or tying (half-point), with the winning team accumulating more points over all the matches across the tournament’s three days. In the case of a 14-14 tie, the team holding the Cup from the previous tournament would retain it until the next Ryder Cup, two years later.

Further Reading

http://www.rydercup.com/

http://www.pga.com/rydercup/2004/europe/eventinfo/about.html