The History of the Ryder Cup
Prior to the Ryder Cup being invented in 1927, there were two matches between professional golfers from Great Britain and the USA. Both of these matches were won by Great Britain. The first of these games was played at Gleneagles, Scotland during 1921 and the second at Wentworth, Virginia, where a man by the name of Samuel Ryder was in attendance.
A seed merchant and entrepreneur, Englishman, Samuel Ryder who made his money selling penny seed packets, had taken up golf to improve his health in later life. To learn how to play golf, Ryder employed one of the golfing greats of the era, Abe Mitchell, as his personal tutor.
Captivated by the match at Wentworth, Ryder insisted that a similar competition must be done again and the Ryder Cup was born.
A small gold cup was donated by Samuel Ryder with a gold figure at the top, to be used as the trophy for the golfing event. It stands as a lasting memorial to Ryder’s friend Abe Mitchell.
The US dominated many of the first matches against Great Britain and Ireland. Out of the first 22 matches, the United States won 18, Great Britain and Ireland won 3, and the 1969 contest was a tie.
Things changed in 1979, with Europe entering the competition to take on the Americans. The Spaniards, Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido were the first continental golfers to take part in the cup. Following on from the Europeans arrival, the Europe team went on to win 8 games, United States 7, and one game was tied.
Nowadays the Ryder Cup is known for being one of the worlds exciting sports competitions. Every two years, 24 of the best golfers from the United States and Europe compete against other in the prestigious tournament. Some incredible golf is played every time the Ryder Cup is held, with millions of golf fans from all over the world tuning in to see their sporting heroes compete.
