The Ryder Cup was started in 1927 as a direct competition between the US and Great Britain. It was played at the East Course Wentworth Club in Virginia, Surrey, Britain with the US dominating it from the start. Till 1972, the English won only thrice with their first victory coming in 1929 and last in 1957. England and Ireland competed as a team from 1973 and in 1979 they were replaced by team Europe to make the Ryder Cup more competitive. The biennially event is jointly conducted by the US PGA Tour and the European Tour.
Format of Play at the Ryder Cup
The teams consist of 12 members with the format of competition being match play. Presently, the matches consist of eight foursome matches, eight fourball matches and 12 singles matches. Winning gives the team one point while in case of a tie after 18 holes the point is shared by both the teams.
- Foursome: It is a competition between two teams of two golfers. The team members take alternate shots throughout the match with the same ball.
- Fourball: Here all the four players play with their own balls throughout the round rather than alternating shots. Each hole is won by the golfer who has the lowest score adding to the team's score.
- Singles: It is a direct competition between two golfers.
Europe completed a hat trick of wins at the Ryder Cup in 2006. They had earlier won the 2004 and 2002 editions. This time they won by a margin of 18.5-9.5. The meet was cancelled in 2001 because of the 9/11 strikes.
Tournament schedule and tickets
The 2008 Ryder Cup will be held at the Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky. Tickets will be issued a few weeks before the tournament begins.
Ryder Cup is the only tournament on the PGA Tour where there is a direct competition between two teams. It is a very popular tournament among the golfers with all the top players taking part. As we continue on this tour we will learn about the other tournaments in the European Tour .
