TERRE HAUTE —
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
This weekend the 38th Ryder Cup is being held in Wales. If you’re a history buff or a golfer, you might be interested in how this match play tournament, which has become a very prestigious event over the years, came to be.
It is under debate as to whose original idea it was, but a believable story to me is that James Harnett, a circulation representative for Golf Illustrated in 1920, wanted to attract readers by raising funds to pay expenses for a professional match between the USA and Great Britain and Ireland. At its’ annual meeting in 1920, the PGA of America voted to advance Harnett some funds, which eventually became the Ryder Cup.
The first informal matches were played at Gleneagles, Scotland, in 1921. The original matches were informal, and didn’t have a name yet. They were comprised of four foursomes (alternate shot) matches on one day and eight singles matches on the other day, each of 36 holes. The Brits won that first match 9-3.
The next match occurred in 1926 because there were regional qualifying matches for the 1926 Open Championship, forcing competitors to make their transatlantic trip earlier. The Americans met the British golfers in an unofficial match at the Wentworth Club, losing soundly by 131⁄2 - 11⁄2. Samuel Ryder, an English seed merchant, was a member of the gallery of that match. Ryder was being tutored in golf by British star Abe Mitchell, who beat the reigning Open Champion Jim Barnes 8 and 7 in the singles, and then he and his partner George Duncan defeated Walter Hagen and Barnes 9 and 8 in the foursomes.
After the matches, Sam Ryder had tea with Mitchell and Duncan. Duncan suggested to Ryder that he provide a trophy and encourage that the matches occur on a regular basis. Ryder enthusiastically agreed, and commissioned the design of the gold chalice now known as the Ryder Cup. The golfer on the top of the trophy is a likeness of Abe Mitchell.
The first official Ryder Cup was set up for June 3-4, 1927, at the Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Mass. There have since been 37 matches spanning 81 years. There was a break in the matches from 1939 to 1947 due to World War II. In Sept. 1939, the secretary of the Professional Golfers Association (GB &I) sent a cable to the PGA of America saying, “When we have settled our differences and peace reigns, we will see that our team comes across to remove the Ryder Cup from your safekeeping.”
The Ryder Cup was interrupted a second time following the Sept. 11, 2001 attack upon America. It was rescheduled for the following year, and has since been conducted in even numbered years.
After Great Britain won the cup in 1933, it didn’t win again until 1957. Interest in the event had waned drastically on the other side of the pond. But in 1969, the two teams tied, due to a gesture of sportsmanship that epitomizes the essence of the Ryder Cup. The score was tied at 151⁄2 - 151⁄2, with one match remaining on the course. Tony Jacklin had just eagled the 17th hole to make the match even. On the 18th green, Jack Nicklaus holed his putt from six feet, then with one sweeping move, picked his ball out of the cup and picked up Jacklin’s marker from 21⁄2 feet, conceding his putt and making the teams tied at 16-16.
The Ryder Cup gained in popularity after men from the European tour were added to the GB & I side in 1979, and the format was revised to include four fourball and four foursomes matches on each of the first two days, and 12 singles matches on the third day. The total amount of points were increased to 28.
The Americans still dominated the matches until 1985, now known as The Battle at The Belfry, where the Europeans won 161⁄2 - 111⁄2. The Europeans won again at The Belfry in 2002, then in America at Oakland Hills, and then in 2006 in Ireland. In 2008, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, a U.S. team captained by Paul Azinger won, by a score of 161⁄2 - 111⁄2. So the Europeans are motivated to keep the cup on their shores with a win in Wales this weekend.
• Quote of the Day: “I don’t think you’d have missed that putt, Tony, but in these circumstances I’d never give you the opportunity” — Jack Nicklaus, as he conceded the putt to Tony Jacklin at the 1969 Ryder Cup matches, which left the teams tied at 16 points apiece.
On & Off the Course
ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
- On & Off the Course
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Golf is not a casual sport, even though it has a term called “casual water.”
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On and off the course: Sycamores seeded sixth heading into MVC golf tourney
It wasn’t too long ago that Indiana State University didn’t even have a women’s golf team.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: A hard ticket to come by
This is the weekend of the Masters Tournament, the first of the four major tournaments.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Some things on golf course are worse than steep putts
It’s not often that anything gets more scary on a golf course than a steep downhill putt, but on some courses around the world, things a little more on the supernatural side might give you a bigger fright!
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Red, White and Blue visits the Isle of Green
In 2006, the Ryder Cup was held in Ireland at The K Club in County Kildare.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fall may be coming but golf season is far from over
Once the major tournaments are over with, what’s there to look forward to in the world of golf?
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf… simplified!
Golf is not a simple game. A golf course is made up of 18 holes, all different. There are par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; they all vary in length and elevation, and each has its own challenges. There can be water hazards, trees, sand bunkers, tall grass, hills, valleys — and then, if that’s not enough, there’s probably wind too.
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On and Off the Course: Northern Ireland builds on golf history
Northern Ireland is only about 5,452 square miles in area and has a population about the same as West Virginia, which is about 1,880,344.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s Open at the Broadmoor
This is the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open, and this year it’s being played at The Broadmoor, East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Fort Golf Course: A Walk in the Park…
Indiana has some pretty spectacular state parks, but one of them gives you the ability to “spoil a good walk” by chasing a little white ball.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Father’s Day is a good day for golfers
Most people consider the time around Christmas to be the gift-buying season.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Playing with lead a difficult task
As exciting as last week’s Masters was, with six players being tied for the lead at one point on Sunday, it was very difficult watching Rory McIlroy fall apart to shoot an 80.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Masters a rite of spring
This is Masters weekend, the grand kickoff to the golf season for a lot of golfers. Sure, there have been tournaments on TV, because the professionals have been playing in Hawaii, California, Texas, Dubai, and other areas not so affected by winter as we are here in the Midwest, but to me, watching The Masters is a rite of spring.
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ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
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On and Off the Course: Purdue's Kampen Course a gem in Indiana's rough
About a month ago, Indiana was still heavily mired in heat and humidity, making outdoor activities such as golf less appealing than usual. At that time it felt like the repressive heat would never go away, it would never rain again, and all of the grass was just going to continue to wither and die. And the month prior to that we kept getting rained out of golf events!
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On and Off the Course: Successful golfers know ... focus is the key
I have a good friend who coached his daughter’s basketball team for a number of years, and told me that his theme with the girls was always “focus”, until it was ingrained in their brains. Now when they play high school ball, if they hear “focus” yelled from the stands, they know the source.
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On and Off the Course: Technology adds even more fun to the course
You’ve hit a drive into some brush in an area marked as a hazard, but you can’t find the ball to prove it is there. And no one actually witnessed it go in the hazard. You just think that’s where it probably is. What is the rule for this situation?
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On and Off the Course: Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic a worthwhile charity event
On Monday, I worked as a volunteer for the Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic, Golf Tournament and Auction at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with clear blue skies, just a few wispy clouds here and there and a high temperature of about 76 degrees.
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On and Off the Course: Trends show golf in decline
You don’t have to watch the news or read the paper to understand that America is struggling on the economic front. The evidence can be witnessed at the local golf course.
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On and Off the Course: Remembering former South golfer Ian White
It’s usually a bit of a struggle for me to figure out what my topic will be for this column. This week I could have written about Tiger’s withdrawal from the Players’ Championship due to a bulging disc in his neck, or by association, the health hazards a violent golf swing can have on the human body, or any number of other golf-related topics.
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On and Off the Course: Ochoa’s departure to impact LPGA
LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan already had a tough job, trying to promote the LPGA tour and keep the 25 events that they have on the schedule, but that job was made tougher last week when the tour’s No. 1 player announced her retirement from the game at the ripe old age of 28.
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On and Off the Course: Examining the square groove rule change
Even though the Masters is going to have its own little drama going on with the return of Tiger Woods, an interesting thing to note will be how well the players are able to hold the hard fast greens at Augusta. An underlying part of the bigger picture that everyone might not realize is a rule change that could dramatically affect most, if not all, of the players. That rule change took effect on Jan. 1.
- On and Off the Course: President's Cup should be entertaining Just when we thought golf season was over, and it was time to concentrate on football, we must awaken from our naps, because there’s going to be some exciting golf for us to watch next weekend. The President’s Cup will run from Oct. 6-11 at Harding Park in San Francisco.
- On and Off the Course: The obscure of golf's rulebook Golfers know that the rules that govern the game are abundant. The game originated in the 15th century on the links of Scotland, and somehow as time went on and people became more civilized, rules were adopted.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s City Match Play had tough competition I played in the Terre Haute Golf Association Women’s City Match Play Tournament a couple of weeks ago.
- On and Off the Course: One for the ages … well, almost! I wonder how long people will be referring to last week’s British Open, as “one for the ages.” They could also refer to it as “one for the aged!” Tom Watson’s near miss of a 9th Open Championship (as the Brits prefer to call it, and as it rightly should be by virtue of its longevity) was a rallying cry to all those golfers who have toiled for so many years at their game, but had given up hope as for ever getting it back to where they had it twenty years ago.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: In a bad economy, should LPGA raise its fees? For 31 years The LPGA’s Corning Classic was held at Corning Country Club in Corning, N.Y., with Corning Glassware as its title sponsor. This year, however, was the end of an era as LPGA players played their final rounds in its’ longest-running event. Due to many factors Corning chose to not renew their contract for 2010.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: ‘Average golfer’ ready to face challenges of Bethpage Black Golf Digest, in association with the USGA and NBC Sports, has asked the question, “Can the ‘average golfer’ break 100 at Bethpage Black under U.S. Open conditions?”
- On and Off the Course: Golf is for Mother’s, too I’d like to wish all of my readers who are mothers, whether they play golf or not, a Happy Mother’s Day — and if you do play golf — I hope you have a fine day today and that you find the time to get out on the course.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
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