Ryder Cup over the years
The only hot topic of conversation in the world of golf is the Ryder Cup. Who’s in the teams? Which player will be paired with whom? Will the Europeans take the cup home or the Americans keep it with them? With the teams now decided,
the rest of the questions will surely be answered in the days to come. However, the Ryder Cup that we know now, wasn’t always like this. Since 1927, which was when this biennial event began, the format of the Cup has changed significantly. Here is how the
Ryder Cup has changed over the years.
The matches, format and the duration have all been altered ever since the first event was held. The current format of the game is fourball and foursomes matches on the first two days which is followed by single matches on the third
day. For every day played, the number of holes is set to eighteen.
In the very first year, the competition had foursomes in which there were two players per side and both of the sides played alternating shots. Along with foursomes, single matches were also part of the competition. Back then, the
number of holes for all the games was thirty-six. During the first day, foursome matches were played and single matches used to be scheduled for the second day. Therefore, unlike now, the competition only used to last two days. This format, in which the players
competed for a maximum of twelve points, stayed the same until 1961.
In 1960, the idea of increasing the points was given by Lord Brabazon who was the President of the Professional Golfers Association of Great Britain. After he proposed the idea, there obviously had to be a lot of discussion. A
special committee was formed to review the format and the game and see what else could be done to make it better. With some debate and discussion, a conclusion was reached and in 1961, the competition was increased to 24 points instead of 12 points. This alteration
was made by cutting the matches from 18 to 36 holes.
Even though the points were doubled, the format was still the same with foursomes and singles matches being played during two days. Soon the players committee suggested that the new format should be added to the Ryder Cup. The
idea of fourballs came forward. Fourballs consists of two players per side playing the best ball. The first time the fourballs was played was in the 1963 Ryder Cup and it was the 1963 Cup that was played over a three day period. Day 1 had eight foursomes matches
meaning four matches for the morning and afternoon each. The second day had eight fourballl where just like day 1, four were played in the morning and four were played in the afternoon. On the third day, 16 single matches were held. If the captains wanted,
the players could participate in both the single and afternoon matches. Then the points were increased to thirty-two.
Then in 1973, the foursomes and the fourballs were both played on the same day, one after another. Four years later, the British team urged that the pints at stake should be reduced to twenty. This again called for the format to
be changed to foursomes, fourballs and singles on separate days. Now the single matches were even reduced to 10 and a player could only participate in one.
In 1979, the format changed again. The second round of fourballs and foursomes was again added to the Ryder Cup. The points at stake rose once again to 28. Now the total number of single matches played changed to 12.
In 1981, the points remained the same at 28. The event was now set to be a 3-day event. On the first and second day, four foursomes and four balls would be played. Then all the single matches, which were twelve, were to be played
on the third day. This format is still in use today. This year’s Ryder Cup will start on October 1st in Wales and has golf fans excited.
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