The Ryder Cup.

Where it came from

According to Wikipedia, the first official Ryder Cup was played on 3 and 4 June 1927 at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts, where the United States, captained by Walter Hagen, beat Great Britain, captained by Ted Ray, 9.5 to 2.5. The founder, Samuel Ryder, could not attend because he was ill.

The British side later became Great Britain and Ireland, and from 1979 it took in players from continental Europe. The DP World Tour's 50-year history names Antonio Garrido and Seve Ballesteros as the first continental Europeans to play. Today the PGA of America and the European Tour co-own the event, according to The Golf News Net.

How the match works

A search summary of Golf Compendium's guide to the 2023 match sets out the format:

• Twelve players a side, over three days of match play.
• Eight foursomes matches. Under Rule 22 of the 2023 Rules of Golf (in effect from 1 January 2023), the two partners play one ball, alternating strokes.
• Eight four-ball matches. Under Rule 23, each partner plays their own ball and the side scores the lower of the two on each hole.
• Twelve singles matches on the final day.

That makes 28 matches, each worth one point for a win and half a point to each side for a halved match. A team needs 14.5 points to win outright. The formats of play page explains foursomes and four-ball in more detail.

Recent results

There was no Ryder Cup in 2026; the next match is in 2027.

2023: Rome

The 2023 match was played from 29 September to 1 October. Europe built a 10.5 to 5.5 lead by Saturday night, the two sides split the Sunday singles 6 to 6, and Tommy Fleetwood's win over Rickie Fowler secured the Cup.

2025: Bethpage Black

The 2025 match ran from 26 to 28 September. NBC Sports' session-by-session record shows how Europe built its lead:

Europe's 11.5 to 4.5 lead going into the singles was a record seven points. The United States then won the singles heavily, but not by enough. A search summary credits Shane Lowry's half point with guaranteeing that Europe would keep the Cup, and Tyrrell Hatton's point with securing the outright win.

One singles match was never played. Viktor Hovland withdrew injured before Sunday, and his match against Harris English, the American player set aside for that case, was recorded as halved. NBC Sports notes that it was the first win by a visiting team since Europe's at Medinah in 2012.

The 2027 Ryder Cup

The 2027 match goes to Adare Manor in County Limerick, Ireland.

• European captain: Luke Donald, reappointed in an announcement on 4 March 2026.
• United States captain: Jim Furyk, named on 24 April 2026. It is his second time in the role, after 2018.
• U.S. vice-captains: Stewart Cink and Justin Leonard, named by Furyk.

The captaincy dates come from search summaries of the Ryder Cup site and press reports. Broadcasters for the Ryder Cup were not part of our research.

For the Solheim Cup, the Presidents Cup and the amateur matches, see other team cups.