The Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup, among the last great professional sporting events where winning, and not prize money, is its own reward, spans 38 competitions over 81 years.

Medinah Country Club, the site of many of the most memorable moments spanning 60 years of major championship golf, will host the 39th Ryder Cup, Sept. 25-30, 2012, marking the Illinois debut of golf’s most compelling event. Medinah has previously hosted two PGA Championships (1999, 2006) and three U.S. Opens (1949, 1975 and 1990); while also the site of the 1988 U.S. Senior Open and three Western Opens [now BMW Championship] (1939, ’62, ’66).

In 2010, Wales served as host of this most compelling event for the first time. Team USA came up short in their quest to retain the coveted Ryder Cup on Monday, thanks to a clutch final-match win by Graeme McDowell (3&1) over Hunter Mahan to give the Europeans a dramatic 14 1/2-13 1/2 victory. Down by three points to start the day, the United States won six matches, halved two and lost four.

The competition was born in 1927, when enterprising English seed merchant Samuel Ryder commissioned the casting of a gold chalice that bears his name. The U.S. Team defeated Great Britain, 9 1/2 to 2 1/2, in the inaugural matches in Worcester, Mass. Since then, the Ryder Cup has expanded to involve the finest players of Europe. Except for a span (1939-45) during World War II and following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks upon America, the Ryder Cup has been held biennially with the U.S. and Europe alternating as host.

Click here for a recap of the 38th Ryder Cup.