Samuel Ryder and His Love of Golf
It was only after experiencing a period of ill health in 1908 that Samuel Ryder’s friend Frank Wheeler suggested that he take up golf as a way to get more fresh air. Ryder played cricket in his early life but played little sport in adult life until he was 50 years old. After joining Verulam Golf Club, where he served on the greens committee for 20 years, he quickly secured a single-figure handicap. He was a very generous man, making large donations to the club, and he was appointed captain in 1911, 1926 and 1927.
The real inspiration came to Ryder after meeting the great Whitcombe brothers on a holiday in Dorset. Ernest Whitcombe spoke up honestly when asked of his chances of success in golf competitions saying, “The Americans come over here smartly dressed and backed by wealthy supporters; the Britisher has a poor chance compared to that.”
The Ryder Cup’s Humble Beginnings
In 1927, at the Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts, the very first Ryder Cup was contested between the United States and Great Britain. America dominated the championship in its early days, and British golfers would go on to win the Cup in 1929, 1933 and 1957.
However, after repeated American dominance, a decision to extend the representation of "Great Britain and Ireland" to eventually include continental Europe was agreed from 1979. The inclusion of European golfers was partly down to the talents of a new generation of Spanish golfers, led by Antonio Garrido and Seve Ballesteros. In addition to players from Great Britain and Ireland, the European team included players from Belgium, Austria, Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Since 1979, Europe has been victorious eleven times outright and retained the Cup once in a tied match. The United States won nine times over the same period.
The Format of the Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup involves different match play competitions between players selected from two teams of twelve. Normally it takes place from a Friday to a Sunday with 28 matches played in total, all of them over 18 holes. On Friday and Saturday, four foursome matches and four four-ball matches are played each day; there is a session of four matches in the morning and a session of four matches in the afternoon. On Sunday, when all team members play there are 12 singles matches. Not all players of a team must play on Friday and Saturday. The team captains can select any eight players for each of the sessions over these two days.
The schedule of play has changed quite a lot over the years. From the inaugural event until 1959, the Cup was played over a two-day period with 36-hole matches. In 1961, team matches were changed to 18 holes each and the outright number of matches doubled. In 1963, the event was extended to three days, with the four-ball match format being played for the first time. This system of play remained until 1977, when the number of matches was reduced to 20. However, in 1979, the first year continental European players participated, the format was changed to the 28-match version still in use today.
The Ryder Cup Envelope Rule
If a team member sustains an injury and cannot play the scheduled singles match, the opposing captain is allowed to select one player from his team that he would like to not compete. The named player is then matched up against the injured player and the match is recorded as a half. One time honoured tradition is that each captain must place the name of their nominated player in a plain envelope before the commencement of a match. The "envelope rule", as it has become known, has been used just three times since 1979. It was most recently used in 1993 when Europe's Sam Torrance suffered a sore left foot. Lanny Wadkins volunteered to be the player that American captain Tom Watson placed in the envelope, and their match was recorded as halved.
Qualification and Selection for the Ryder Cup
Selection has always been tough for the Ryder Cup and has varied over the years. Early on, a selection committee generally decided the teams, but later qualification based on performances was introduced. Currently most of the team are typically chosen by their professional performance. However, the number of players selected by the captain, known as "wild cards", gradually increased. Since 1989, both teams have used this choice of selection.
In the 2014 edition of the Ryder Cup, both teams had 9 players qualifying based upon previous performances with the final 3 wild card players selected by the captain. European players gaining automatic qualification used a system consisting of two measures; one gauging prize money won in official European Tour competitions and the other based on World Ranking points. Both measures used a 12-month qualifying period finishing at the end of August. The American system, introduced in 2008, was based solely on prize money earned in official PGA Tour events during the current season and gained in the major championships in the previous season.
A number of positive changes were made in the 2016, which meant that the number of captain's choices was increased from three to four, with the selections being made later than previously. The qualifying events now included both The Players Championship and the 2015 World Golf Championships events. The time period for qualifying was also later due to the Olympic Games having moved the dates for the 2016 PGA Championship, which took place already at the end of July. The Europeans retained its old system of qualification and wild cards.
The Captains’ Privilege
Ryder Cup captains have always been given the privilege to select the players and choose the playing order in each of the matches. During the contests involving 36-hole matches, it was expected for the captain to be one of the players. Great Britain had non-playing captains only in 1933, 1949, 1951 and 1953 while the USA only had two non-playing captains in this period, Walter Hagen in 1937 and Ben Hogan in 1949. When the change was made to 18-hole matches and then extended to three days, it became more difficult to combine the roles of player and captain. The great Arnold Palmer in 1963 was the last playing captain. Captains have always been professionals and the only captain who never actually played in the Ryder Cup was the 1933 British captain, J. H. Taylor, the 1933 British captain.
A Game of Sportsmanship!
Of the many great games to have taken place, some are certainly noteworthy. Many would say that the 1969 Cup held at Royal Birkdale was one of the best and most competitive contests in Ryder Cup history. An outstanding 18 out of the 32 matches went to the very last green. The championship was decided in its very last match, of which Sam Snead the American Captain later commented, “This is the greatest golf match you have ever seen in England”.
With Great Britain and the United States tied, Jack Nicklaus led Tony Jacklin by 1 up as they played the 17th hole. Jacklin made a tremendous 35-foot eagle putt and when Nicklaus missed his own eagle attempt from 12 feet, the match was all square.
At the final par-5 hole, both Nicklaus and Jacklin got on the green in two. Nicklaus sank his birdie putt, and with a crowd of 8,000 people watching, unbelievably picked up Jacklin's marker, conceding the 2-foot putt Jacklin needed to tie the matches. As the current holders of the Ryder Cup, the rules meant that the United States retained the trophy.
"I don't think you would have missed that putt", Nicklaus declared to Jacklin after the match, "but in these circumstances I would never give you the opportunity."
Naturally, this gesture of great sportsmanship by Nicklaus caused huge controversy on the American side. Many would have preferred him to force Jacklin to attempt the putt for the small chance that he might have missed, giving the United States team an outright win!
It is impossible to predict if the Ryder Cup 2023 will have such a dramatic finish, but you can now start planning your bets to account for all eventualities.