History of the Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is the most famous team golf event in the world. The Ryder Cup is played every two years between the United States and the European team. The tournament was founded in 1927 by Samuel Ryder and has continued to the present day. The competition was originally played between the American and British teams, but in 1973 the rules changed to allow the British team to field Irish golfers. The competition finally expanded in 1979 to allow all European golfers to play for the new European team. The competition has been held every two years since 1927, except during World War II. Since 1979, the tournament has been contested 11 times between the United States and Europe. The inaugural tournament was held at the Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts. The United States were the first team to lift the trophy, triumphing over Great Britain 91/2-21/2. The Ryder Cup has been played at 28 different venues. No course has hosted the cup more than twice. The only time the cup was not contested was during World War II. Ryder Cup Venues Worcester CC USA wins -25 Moortown GC, Leeds GB/Ire/Eur wins -8 Sciote CC, Ohio Southport and Ainsdale GC, England Ridgewood CC Portland GC, Oregon Ganton GC, Scarborough Pinehurst CC Wentworth GC Thunderbird CC, Palm Springs Lindrick GC, Yorkshire Eldorado CC, Palm Desert Royal Lytham and St Annes GC East Lake CC, Atlanta Royal Birkdale GC, Southport Champions GC, Houston Old Warson CC, St Louis Muirfield, Scotland Laurel Valley GC, Ligonier Greenbrier, Virginia Walton Heath GC, Surrey PGA National GC, Palm Beach Gardens The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield Muirfield Village GC, Ohio The...... middle of paper ...... is the hole. If a team is tied for the best score, the hole is halved. Singles (12 groups of two individual teams) Singles is a match in which one player competes against another player. A player wins the match when he has more holes in advance than there are holes left to play. Pairings Each team captain submits his team's order of play to the designated tournament official. Each captain's rosters are matched, resulting in the pairings. Please note that player pairs can be changed by team captains at any time before the start of a match. More Facts Since 1985, when Europe won for the first time in 28 years, 224 points have been played and Europe is only 5 points ahead! The United States has won the trophy 25 times while Europe has only won it 8 times! The trophy remained in the United States for 26 years, between 1959 and 1985!