The Greatest Ryder Cup Match
Who wins the Ryder Cup featuring the greatest players from GB&I and Europe versus the best USA golfers? How could you compare performances across different eras when the equipment was so different?
The answer is to use the Match Play World Rankings to select the teams and then predict the results. So here goes!
Selecting The Teams
To ensure a balance over time, the player with the best record from each of four eras will be selected for each side.
The four eras are from the start in 1927 to 1955, 1955 to the last time GB&I played as a team in 1977. Then the start of Europe v the USA in the 20th century and finally the best player so far from the 21st century.
Then the top 7 players for each team on the Match Play World Rankings with a minimum of 10 games will automatically be picked regardless of when they played.
Finally there will be one legacy pick for the player who we feel has made the biggest contribution to the event and their team over the first 100 years of the Ryder Cup.
So let’s meet the teams!
Greatest European Ryder Cup Team
1927-55: Abe Mitchell (P6 W4 L2), Points: 4, Points Per Match: 0.667
Abe is forever linked to the trophy as he is the golfer on top of it. Mitchell was the pro at Samuel Ryder’s home club of Moortown and he also earns his place by virtue of being undefeated in singles.
1955-75: Peter Oosterhuis (P28 W14, L11, H3), Points: 15.5, Points Per Match: 0.554
The best British golfer of his era as he showed winning 6.5 points out of 9 in singles.
1977-1999: José María Olazábal (P31 W18, L8, H5), Points: 20.5, Points Per Match: 0.661
Won 75% of his foursomes and four-ball matches, combing with Ballesteros as the greatest Ryder Cup pairing. Winning captain at Medinah in 2012.
2000-2023: Colin Montgomerie (P36 W20, L9, H7), Points: 23.5, Points Per Match: 0.653
The leader of European golf in this period, undefeated in 8 singles and 0.769 in foursomes. Winning captain at Celtic Manor in 2010.
Ranking: Luke Donald (P15 W10 L4 H1), Points: 10.5, Points Per Match: 0.700
Luke Donald’s match play record is the best of any European player with over 10 games. Dominant in foursomes (0.750) and singles (0.682), won every time as a player and winning captain at Marco Simone, Italy in 2023 too.
Ranking: Ian Poulter (P25 W15 L8 H2), Points: 16, Points Per Match: 0.640
The Postman delivers. Undefeated in singles (0.929), indefatigable in foursomes (0.625) and forever remembered for single handedly turning the tide at Medinah in 2012 for the greatest ever away comeback.
Ranking: Sergio Garcia (P45 W25 L13 H7), Points: 28.5, Points Per Match: 0.633
The record points scorer in the event and the successor to Seve’s role as inspirational leader. Ranking of 0.686 from 36 pairs matches is supreme.
Ranking: Severiano Ballesteros (P37 W20 L12 H5), Points: 22.5, Points Per Match: 0.608
The heartbeat of Europe whose inspiration is felt to this day. Whether partnering Olazábal & Garcia, or lesser lights Way and Gilford, his pairs record of 0.672 from 17 games is excellent.
Ranking: Nick Faldo (P46 W23 L19 H4), Points: 25, Points Per Match: 0.543
Fearsome competitor who won when it mattered. 0.636 in 11 singles matches and 0.579 in 19 foursomes is proof of his class.
Ranking: Justin Rose (P26 W14 L9 H3), Points: 15.5, Points Per Match: 0.596
Another foursomes (0.750) expert whose solid consistency brings home the points in singles too when it matters as he showed at Medinah and Marco Simone.
Ranking: Tommy Fleetwood (P12 W7 L3 H2), Points: 8, Points Per Match: 0.667
Turning into a key the Ryder Cup player, undefeated in foursomes and with a great overall match play record.
Legacy: Tony Jacklin (Captain): (P35 W13 L14 H8), Points: 17, Points Per Match: 0.486
His dominant foursomes record (0.769) let down by poor singles record. However it was Jacklin who put Europe back on the map after a near miss away in 1983 with two wins and a tie as Captain from 1985 to 1989. Inspirational and superb man manager, he made Europe believe.
Greatest USA Ryder Cup Team
1927-55: Walter Hagan (Captain), (P9 W7 L1 H1), Points: 7.5, Points Per Match: 0.833
Playing captain for the first five Ryder Cups and non-playing captain in the sixth, of which he won four. Ruthless competitor as you would expect of an 11 time major champion, including 5 match play USPGAs.
1955-75: Gardner Dickenson (P10 W9, L1, H0), Points: 9, Points Per Match: 0.900
Undefeated in foursomes and singles and only one loss in 3 singles matches.
1977-1999: Tom Watson (P15 W10, L4, H1), Points: 10.5, Points Per Match: 0.700
Was 0.733 from 11 foursomes and four-ball matches and won half his singles games too. Tough competitor and winning captain at The Belfry in 1993.
2000-2023: Patrick Reed (P12 W7, L3, H2), Points: 8, Points Per Match: 0.667
Captain America was the figurehead of Team USA in the 21st century. Comes alive in the Ryder Cup and undefeated in singles.
Ranking: Sam Snead (P13 W10 L2 H1), Points: 10.5, Points Per Match: 0.808
Excellent in foursomes (0.750) and even better in singles (0.857) for one of the best records from either side. Winning captain in 1951 and 1959 in the USA and his side also tied at Royal Birkdale in 1969 thanks to Nicklaus’ gesture.
Ranking: Larry Nelson (P13 W9 L3 H1), Points: 9.5, Points Per Match: 0.731
Nelson went a little under the radar but his record does not. Undefeated in singles and equally as good in foursomes (0.667) and four-balls (0.750)
Ranking: Hale Irwin (P20 W13 L5 H2), Points: 14 Points Per Match: 0.725
Irwin was another tough competitor to avoid in every format, but especially singles where he won 4.5 points out of 6.
Ranking: Arnold Palmer (P32 W20 L12 H5), Points: 22.5, Points Per Match: 0.719
The King was the King of match play in our overall rankings. In the Ryder Cup he was not too bad either with 0.762 from 21 pairs matches and 7 points from 11 singles (0.636). Winning captain in the USA in 1963 and 1975.
Ranking: Lee Trevino (P30 W17 L7 H6), Points: 20, Points Per Match: 0.667
Grew up playing money matches when he had none which honed his match play spirit. Excellent in all formats and unlucky to be captain in 1985 just as Europe were finding their mojo.
Ranking: Billy Casper (P37 W20 L10 H7), Points: 23.5, Points Per Match: 0.635
The leading USA points scorer of all time with 0.611 records in pairs and 7 points out of 10 from singles.
Ranking: Tom Kite (P28 W15 L9 H4), Points: 17, Points Per Match: 0.625
Last place comes down to Kite or Lanny Wadkins (0.647), but in a team of dominant foursomes players, Kite’s undefeated record of 6 points from 7 in singles (0.929) gives him the edge.
Legacy: Jack Nicklaus (P28 W17 L8 H3), Points: 18.5, Points Per Match: 0.661
Jack would comfortably make the team on ranking with 0.889 in foursomes and 0.611 in four-ball. However what he did for the Ryder Cup with his concession to Jacklin in 1969 and then suggesting in 1977 that European players join GB&I made the event what it is today. Won 5 times as a player and also as captain in 1983 against Jacklin, only for Tony to return the favour at Jack’s course for Europe’s first win in the USA. Ironically another positive for the Ryder Cup from the greatest player of all.
Greatest Ryder Cup Courses
The courses have always played an important part in the Ryder Cup and many names have become synonymous with the events that took place there.
For the Greatest Ryder Cup we could not just pick one course. Instead we picked five of the most iconic venues for each round.
Round 1: Oak Hill, USA
Scene of the 1995 Ryder Cup and the first time Europe came from behind in the singles to win in the USA. Cue Seve and Faldo hugging and crying.
Round 2: The Country Club, Brookline, USA
The largest comeback in history as USA captain ‘Gentle’ Ben Crenshaw had a good feeling despite being 4 points behind heading into the singles in 1999. Justin Leonard comes back from 4 down with 7 to play to drain a monster at 17 and send the Americans into raptures.
Round 3: Medinah, USA
Europe equalled the largest ever comeback, but away from home in 2012. Ian Poulter keeps the heart beating of the European team on the Saturday afternoon, before the rest of the team delivers on Sunday.
Round 4: Walton Heath, England
Not a close match in 1981 but renowned for the USA ‘Dream Team’ of 11 major champions including Nicklaus, Watson and Trevino. Seve and Jacklin were not picked, but that would change in years to come.
Round 5: Royal Birkdale, England
The final match in 1969 and the final putt etched in Ryder Cup history with Nicklaus’ concession to Jacklin giving GB&I their first positive result for 12 years.
Greatest Ryder Cup Result
The Ryder Cup has change format a lot over the years, but for the greatest Ryder Cup match between GB & Europe and the USA we have used the current 5 round format of two rounds of foursomes and fourballs followed by one round of singles.
The Greatest Ryder Cup match uses our Match Play Teams service that enables anyone to create and run their own team match play event online. Names were draw randomly out of the hat and then their Ryder Cup ranking records combined and compared to decide the winner of each game. See who won by clicking the button below:
