The Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a biannual golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition takes place every two years on courses located alternately in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named after English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy. The event is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the Ryder Cup Europe.

Originally contested between Great Britain and the United States, the first official Ryder Cup was held in the United States in 1927 at Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The local team won the first five editions, but when the competition resumed after World War II, repeated American dominance led to the decision to extend the representation of "Britain and Ireland" to continental Europe from 1979. The inclusion of continental European golfers was partly prompted by the success of a new generation of Spanish golfers, led by Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido.

In 1973, the official title of the British team was changed from "Great Britain" to "Great Britain and Ireland", but this was simply a name change to reflect the fact that golfers in the Republic from Ireland had been part of Great Britain's Ryder Cup squad since 1953, while players from Northern Ireland had participated since 1947. In addition to players from Great Britain and Ireland, the European squad since then includes players from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

Since 1979, Europe have won the Cup eleven times and retained it once in a draw, while the United States have won it nine times in the same period. Since 1979, Europe has won four times abroad (in 1987, 1995, 2004 and 2012), while the United States has won twice abroad (in 1981 and 1993) From 1995 in 2014, Europe won eight out of ten Ryder Cups.

The Ryder Cup, its non-European equivalent (the Presidents Cup) and its women's equivalent (the Solheim Cup) remain exceptional institutions in the world of professional sport, as the professionals who participate in them do not receive any prizes, although these competitions are high-profile events that make big money in TV, sponsors, ticketing and merchandise.

The 2021 Ryder Cup was held at the Whistling Straits course in Haven, Wisconsin from September 24-26, 2021. The United States beat Europe 19-9, to secure the biggest margin of victory in the modern history of the event (since the inclusion of continental Europe in 1979).

The Ryder Cup was held in odd years until 1999, but then switched to even years in 2002 after being canceled in 2001 due to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It switched back to odd years in 2021, after the 2020 event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.