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| Every game of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A round typically consists of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. On a nine-hole course, a standard round consists of two successive nine-hole rounds. A hole of golf consists of hitting a ball from a tee on the teeing box (a marked area designated for the first shot of a hole, a tee shot), and once the ball comes to rest, striking it again. This process is repeated until the ball is in the cup. Once the ball is on the green (an area of finely cut grass) the ball is usually putted (hit along the ground) into the hole. The goal of resting the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by hazards, such as bunkers and water hazards.[11] In most typical forms of gameplay, each player plays his or her ball from the tee until it is holed.
Players can walk or drive in motorised carts over the course, either singly or in groups of two, three, or four, sometimes accompanied by caddies who carry and manage the players' equipment and give them advice.[14] Each player often acts as scorer for one other player in the group, that is, he or she records the score on a score card. In stroke play (see below), the score consists of the number of strokes played plus any penalty strokes incurred. Penalty strokes are not actually strokes but penalty points that are added to the score for violations of rules or utilizing relief procedures. [edit] Par A hole is classified by its par, the number of strokes a skilled golfer should require to complete play to the hole.[11] For example, a skilled golfer expects to reach the green on a par-four hole in two strokes, one from the tee (the "drive") and another, second, stroke to the green (the "approach") and then roll the ball into the hole in two putts for par. Traditionally, a golf hole is either a par-three, -four or -five; some par-six holes exist, but are not usually found on traditional golf courses.[15] Primarily, but not exclusively, the par of a hole is determined by the tee-to-green distance. A typical length for a par-three hole ranges between 91 and 224 metres (100–250 yd), for a par-four hole, between 225 and 434 metres (251–475 yd). Typically, par-five holes are at between 435 and 630 metres (476–690 yd), and nontraditional par-six holes are any longer distance. These distances are not absolute rules; for example, it is possible that a 450 metre (492 yd) hole could be classed as a par-four hole, since the par for a hole is determined by its 'effective playing length'. If the tee-to-green distance on a hole is predominantly downhill, it will play shorter than its physical length and may be given a lower par rating. Par ratings are also affected by factors affecting difficulty; the placement of hazards or the shape of the hole for example can sometimes affect the play of a hole such that it requires an extra stroke to avoid playing into the hazard or out-of-bounds.[16] Eighteen hole courses may have four par-three, ten par-four, and four par-five holes, though other combinations exist and are not less worthy than courses of par 72. Many major championships are contested on courses playing to a par of 70,71, or 72. In some countries, courses are classified, in addition to the course's par, with a course classification describing the play difficulty of a course and may be used to calculate a golfer's playing handicap for that given course (c.f. golf handicap).[17] [edit] Penalties Main article: Penalty (golf) Penalty strokes are incurred in certain situations. Most often a penalty stroke is assessed because a player has hit into a situation from which they cannot or choose not to play the ball as it lies (e.g. in a water hazard), or because they have lost their ball (out of bounds (OB)) and must play a substitute. Penalty strokes are counted towards a player's score as if they were an extra swing at the ball. Penalty strokes can be added on for many different reasons. It could be a wrongful move that results in a penalty (moving an object that effects the ball to move.) Or a penalty could be because of a lost ball. Most rule infractions lead to a stroke penalty but also can lead to disqualification. Disqualification could be from cheating, signing for a lower score, or from rule infractions that lead to improper play. [edit] Scoring In every form of play, the goal is to play as few strokes per round as possible. Scores for each hole can be described as follows:[11] The two basic forms of playing golf are Match Play and Stroke Play/Stableford Points scoring. * In match play, two players (or two teams) play each hole as a separate contest against each other. The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players or teams are equal the hole is "halved" (drawn). The game is won by the party that wins more holes than the other. In the case that one team or player has taken a lead that cannot be overcome in the number of holes remaining to be played, the match is deemed to be won by the party in the lead, and the remainder of the holes are not played. For example, if one party already has a lead of six holes, and only five holes remain to be played on the course, the match is over. At any given point, if the lead is equal to the number of holes remaining, the match is said to be "dormie", and is continued until the leader increases the lead by one hole, thereby winning the match, or until the match ends in a tie. When the game is tied after the predetermined number of holes have been played, it may be continued until one side takes a one-hole lead.[11] There are variations of these basic principles, some of which are explicitly described in the "Rules of Golf" and are therefore regarded "official." "Official" forms of play are, among others, foursome and four-ball games. [edit] Team play A foursome (defined in Rule 29) is played between two teams of two players each, in which each team has only one ball and players alternate playing it. For example, if players A and B form a team, A tees off on the first hole, B will play the second shot, A the third, and so on until the hole is finished. On the second hole, B will tee off (regardless who played the last putt on the first hole), then A plays the second shot, and so on. Foursomes can be played as match play or stroke play.[18] A four-ball (Rules 30 and 31) is also played between two teams of two players each, but every player plays his own ball and for each team, the lower score on each hole is counted. Four-balls can be played as match play or stroke play.[19] There are also popular unofficial variations on team play: * In a scramble (also known as Ambrose), each player in a team tees off on each hole, and the players decide which shot was best. Every player then plays his second shot from within a clublength of where the best ball has come to rest, and the procedure is repeated until the hole is finished. In best ball, each player plays the hole as normal, but the lowest score of all the players on the team counts as the team's score.[20] There is also a form of starting called "shotgun," which is mainly used for tournament play. A "shotgun start" consists of groups starting at different tees, allowing for all players to start and end their round at the same time. [edit] Handicap systems Main article: Golf handicap A handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's ability to play golf over 18 holes. Handicaps can be applied either for stroke play competition or match play competition. In either competition, a handicap generally represents the number of strokes above par that a player will achieve on an above average day. In stroke play competition, the competitor's handicap is subtracted from their total "gross" score at the end of the round, to calculate a "net" score against which standings are calculated. In match play competition, handicap strokes are assigned on a hole-by-hole basis, according to the handicap rating of each hole (which is provided by the course). The hardest holes on the course receive the first handicap strokes, with the easiest holes receiving the last handicap strokes. Calculating handicaps are often complicated, but essentially are representative of the average over par of a number of a player's previous above average rounds, adjusted for course difficulty. Legislations regarding the calculation of handicaps differs among countries. For example, handicap rules may include the difficulty of the course the golfer is playing on by taking into consideration factors such as the number of bunkers, the length of the course, the difficulty and slopes of the greens, the width of the fairways, and so on. Handicap systems are not used in professional golf. Professional golfers often score several strokes below par for a round and thus have a calculated handicap of 0 or less, meaning that their handicap results in the addition of strokes to their round score. Someone with a handicap of zero or less is often referred to as a 'scratch golfer.' [edit] Rules and other regulations The rules of golf[22][23] are internationally standardised and are jointly governed by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), which was founded 1754 and the United States Golf Association (USGA). By agreement with the R&A, USGA jurisdiction on the enforcement and interpretation of the rules is limited to the United States and Mexico. The national golf associations of other countries use the rules laid down by the R&A and there is a formal procedure for referring any points of doubt to the R&A. The underlying principle of the rules is fairness. As stated on the back cover of the official rule book: "play the ball as it lies", "play the course as you find it", and "if you can't do either, do what is fair". Some rules state that: * every player is entitled and obliged to play the ball from the position where it has come to rest after a stroke, unless a rule allows or demands otherwise (Rule 13-1) The Decisions on the Rules of Golf are based on formal case decisions by the R&A and USGA and are revised and updated every other year. There are strict regulations regarding the amateur status of golfers.[24] Essentially, everybody who has ever received payment or compensation for giving instruction or played golf for money is not considered an amateur and may not participate in competitions limited solely to amateurs. However amateur golfers may receive expenses which comply with strict guidelines and they may accept non-cash prizes within the limits established by the Rules of Amateur Status. In addition to the officially printed rules, golfers also abide by a set of guidelines called Golf etiquette. Etiquette guidelines cover matters such as safety, fairness, easiness and pace of play, and a player's obligation to contribute to the care of the course. Though there are no penalties for breach of etiquette rules, players generally follow the rules of golf etiquette in an effort to improve everyone's playing experience. [edit] Hitting a golf ball To hit the ball, the club is swung at the motionless ball wherever it has come to rest from a side stance. Many golf shots make the ball travel through the air (carry) and roll out for some more distance (roll). Every shot is a compromise between length and precision, and long shots are often less precise than short ones. A longer shot may result in a better score if it helps reduce the total number of strokes for a given hole, but the benefit may be more than outweighed by additional strokes or penalties if a ball is lost, out of bounds, or comes to rest on difficult ground. Therefore, a skilled golfer must assess the quality of his or her shots in a particular situation in order to judge whether the possible benefits of aggressive play are worth the risks. [edit] Types of shots Strictly speaking, every shot made in a round of golf will be subtly different, because the conditions of the ball's lie and desired travel path and distance of the ball will virtually never be exactly the same. However, most shots fall into one of the following categories depending on the purpose and desired distance: * A drive is a long-distance shot played from the tee or fairway, intended to move the ball a great distance down the fairway towards the green. [edit] Swinging the golf club Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing. The full golf swing itself is used in tee and fairway shots. A full swing is a complex rotation of the body aimed at accelerating the club head to a great speed. For a right-handed golfer, it consists of a backswing to the right, a downswing to the left (during which the ball is hit), and a follow through. The full golf swing is a complex motion that is difficult to learn. It is common for beginners to spend several months practicing the very basics before playing their first ball on a course. Generally, even once a golfer has attained professional status, a coach is still necessary in order for the player to maintain good fundamentals. Relatively few golfers play left-handed (i.e., swing back to the left and forward to the right). The percentage of golfers in the U.S. who play left-handed is estimated to be anywhere from 4 percent to 7 percent.[25] Even some players who are strongly left-handed in their daily lives prefer the right-handed golf swing. In the past, this may have been due to the difficulty of finding left-handed golf clubs. Today, more manufacturers provide left-handed versions of their club lines, and the clubs are more readily purchased from mail-order and Internet catalogues, as well as golf stores. A golfer who plays right-handed, but holds the club left-hand-below-right is said to be "cack-handed" or "cross-handed". A golf ball acquires spin when it is hit. Backspin is imparted for almost every shot due to the golf club's loft (i.e., angle between the clubface and a vertical plane). A spinning ball deforms the flow of air around it[26] similar to an airplane wing; a back-spinning ball therefore experiences an upward force which makes it fly higher and longer than a ball without spin. However, too much backspin can negatively impact distance travelled; the increased lift wastes the ball's momentum in gaining altitude rather than in traveling along its flight path. The amount of backspin also influences the behavior of a ball when it impacts the ground. A ball with little backspin will usually roll out for a few metres/yards while a ball with more backspin may not roll at all, or even roll backwards. Sidespin occurs when the clubface is not aligned perpendicularly to the plane of swing. Sidespin makes the ball curve left or right, and can be used intentionally or occur unintentionally. For a right-handed player, a subtle curve to the left is called a draw. A severe curve to the left and downward is a hook. A subtle curve to the right is a fade, while a severe curve away and upward is a slice. Draws and fades are caused by slight misalignments between the clubface and swing plane because of a slightly "open" or "closed" clubface at contact; a skilled player can control the amount of draw or fade to make the ball curve along the path of the fairway. Slices and hooks however indicate a severe misalignment, mistiming or other flaw in the player's swing, such as a swing not parallel to the desired line of travel, the club contacting the ball early or late in the swing, etc. They are generally undesirable as they reduce carry distance, are difficult to predict and therefore difficult to adjust for, and cause the ball to veer sharply off of the fairway and into hazards, trees and/or out-of-bounds. The Single Plane Swing, as an alternative to the traditional dual plane swing method, has gained international popularity as an uncomplicated golf swing based on the theory of moving the club on a single-plane; a method demonstrated formidably by Canadian golf legend Moe Norman. The Natural Golf Single Plane Swing begins with a distinctive hold on the club that naturally aligns the club shaft "on plane" with the arms. This single-plane relationship between the shaft and arms simplifies the dynamics of consistent ball striking leading to more enjoyment faster for all levels of golfers as they play the game. This straightforward swing method provides a foundation for demystifying what has become for many a confusing world of golf instruction. Equipment Main article: Golf equipment A wide range of equipment exists for playing golf, ranging from golf clubs, balls, tees, gloves, and shoes. Professional golf The majority of professional golfers work as club or teaching professionals, and only compete in local competitions. A small elite of professional golfers are "tournament pros" who compete full time on international "tours". Many club and teaching professionals working in the golf industry start as caddies or a general interest in the game, finding employment at golf courses and eventually moving on to certifications in their chosen profession as seen at this employment resource. These programs include independent institutions and universities, and those that eventually lead to a Class A golf professional certification. Golf tours Main article: Professional golf tours There are at least twenty professional golf tours, each run by a PGA or an independent tour organisation, which is responsible for arranging events, finding sponsors, and regulating the tour. Typically a tour has "members" who are entitled to compete in most of its events, and also invites non-members to compete in some of them. Gaining membership of an elite tour is highly competitive, and most professional golfers never achieve it. The most widely known tour is the PGA Tour, which attracts the best golfers from all the other men's tours. This is due mostly to the fact that most PGA Tour events have a first prize of at least USD 800,000. The European Tour, which attracts a substantial number of top golfers from outside North America, ranks second to the PGA Tour in worldwide prestige. Some top professionals from outside North America play enough tournaments to maintain membership on both the PGA Tour and European Tour. There are several other men's tours around the world. Golf is unique in having lucrative competition for older players. There are several senior tours for men 50 and older, the best known of which is the U.S.-based Champions Tour. There are six principal tours for women, each based in a different country or continent. The most prestigious of these is the United States based LPGA Tour. All of the leading professional tours for under-50 players have an official developmental tour, in which the leading players at the end of the season will earn a tour card on the main tour for the following season. Examples include the Nationwide Tour, which feeds to the PGA Tour, and the Challenge Tour, which is the developmental tour of the European Tour. Men's major championships Main article: Men's major golf championships The major championships are the four most prestigious men's tournaments of the year. In chronological order they are: The Masters, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open) and the PGA Championship.[28] The fields for these events include the top several dozen golfers from all over the world. The Masters has been played at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia since its inception in 1934. It is the only major championship that is played at the same course each year.[29] The U.S. Open and PGA Championship are played at courses around the United States, while The Open Championship is played at courses in the UK.[30][31][32] The number of major championships a player accumulates in his career has an impact on his stature in the sport. Jack Nicklaus is considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time, largely because he has won a record 18 professional majors, or 20 majors in total if his two U.S. Amateurs are included. Tiger Woods, who may be the only golfer in the foreseeable future likely to challenge Nicklaus's record, has won 13 professional majors (16 total if his three U.S. Amateurs are included), all before the age of 32. (To put this total in perspective, Nicklaus had won nine professional majors and two U.S. Amateurs at the same age, and did not win his 13th professional major until he was 35.) Woods also came closest to winning all four current majors in one season (known as a Grand Slam completed first by Bobby Jones) when he won them consecutively across two seasons: the 2000 U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship; and the 2001 Masters. This feat has been frequently called the Tiger Slam. Prior to the advent of the PGA Championship and The Masters, the four Majors were the U.S. Open, the U.S. Amateur, the Open Championship, and the British Amateur. These are the four that Bobby Jones won in 1930 to become the only player ever to have earned a Grand Slam. Women's major championships Main article: Women's major golf championships Women's golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The list of majors recognised by the dominant women's tour, the LPGA Tour in the U.S., has changed several times over the years, with the last change in 2001. Like the PGA Tour, the (U.S.) LPGA[33] has four majors: the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA Championship, the U.S. Women's Open and the Women's British Open. Only the last of these is also recognised by the Ladies European Tour. The other event that it recognises as a major is the Evian Masters, which is not considered a major by the LPGA (but is co-sanctioned as a regular LPGA event). However, the significance of this is limited, as the LPGA is far more dominant in women's golf than the PGA Tour is in mainstream men's golf. For example, the BBC has been known to use the U.S. definition of "women's majors" without qualifying it. Also, the Ladies' Golf Union, the governing body for women's golf in the UK and Republic of Ireland, states on its official website that the Women's British Open is "the only Women’s Major to be played outside the U.S."[34] For its part, the Ladies European Tour tacitly acknowledges the dominance of the LPGA Tour by not scheduling any of its own events to conflict with the three LPGA majors played in the U.S. The second-richest women's tour, the LPGA of Japan Tour, does not recognise any of the U.S. LPGA or European majors as it has its own set of three majors. However, these events attract little notice outside Japan. Senior major championships Main article: Senior major golf championships Like women's golf, senior (50-and-over) men's golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors. The list of senior majors on the U.S.-based Champions Tour has changed over the years, but always by expansion; unlike the situation with the LPGA, no senior major has lost its status. The Champions Tour now recognises five majors: the Senior PGA Championship, the U.S. Senior Open, the Senior British Open, The Tradition and the Senior Players Championship. Of the five events, the Senior PGA is by far the oldest, having been founded in 1937. The other events all date from the 1980s, when senior golf became a commercial success as the first golf stars of the television era, such as Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, reached the relevant age. The Senior British Open was not recognised as a major by the Champions Tour until 2003. The European Seniors Tour recognises only the Senior PGA and the two Senior Opens as majors. However, the Champions Tour is arguably more dominant in global senior golf than the U.S. LPGA is in global women's golf. golf 2257 ryder cup The Ryder Cup is a golf trophy, donated by Samuel Ryder, which is awarded biennially in an event called the "Ryder Cup Matches" between teams from Europe and the United States. The Matches are jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour. The competition began following an exhibition match in 1926 of a team representing American professionals against a similar one representing the British PGA on the East Course, Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, UK, with the first competition taking place in 1927. Early matches between the two sides were fairly even, but after the Second World War, repeated US dominance[1] led to a decision to extend the representation of the British & Irish[2] team to Europe in 1979. This change was partly prompted by the success of a new generation of Spanish golfers of the time including Severiano Ballesteros. He and Antonio Garrido were the first Spaniards to play in the event in 1979. Europe has also been represented since then by players from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden. As a result of this change the event has enjoyed more competitive matches, with Europe winning seven times and retaining the cup once, compared to six American wins. * 1 Format [edit] Format The Ryder Cup Matches involve various match play matches between players selected from two teams of twelve. Currently, the matches consist of eight foursomes matches, eight fourball matches and twelve singles matches. The winner of each match scores a point for their team, with ½ a point each for any match that is tied after 18 holes. A foursomes match is a competition between two teams of two golfers. The golfers on the same team take alternate shots throughout the match, with the same ball. Each hole is won by the team that completes the hole in the fewest shots. A fourball match is also a competition between two teams of two golfers, but all four golfers play their own ball throughout the round rather than alternating shots, and each hole is won by the team whose individual golfer has the lowest score. A singles match is a standard matchplay competition between two golfers. The matches take place over three days, Friday through Sunday. On the Friday, there are four fourball matches and four foursomes matches in the afternoon. On the Saturday, the same schedule repeats. On the Sunday, there are twelve singles matches. Not all players need play on Friday and Saturday; the captain can select any eight players for each of the four rounds of play over these two days. The format has changed over the years. From the inaugural event through 1959 the Ryder Cup was a two-day competition, with four 36-hole foursomes matches on the first day and eight 36-hole singles matches on the second day, for a total of 12 points. In 1961 the matches were changed to 18 holes each but the number of matches was doubled, resulting in a total of 24 points. In 1963 the event was expanded to three days, with eight fourball matches being added on the middle day to make 32 points. This format remained until 1977, when the number of matches was reduced to 20: five foursomes matches on the first day, five fourball matches on the second day, and ten singles matches on the final day. In 1979, the first year continental European players participated, the format was changed to the 28-match version in use today.[3] In 2008 the format for the event will not stay the same as in the previous two Ryder Cup Matches. For the first time since 1999, the opening matches of a Ryder Cup will feature the alternate-shot format. United States captain Paul Azinger, hoping to give his team an early advantage in Kentucky, announced the change on January 30 at the PGA Tour's FBR Open in Phoenix. Alternate shot, or foursomes, had been used in the first sessions every year since 1981 until European captain Seve Ballesteros opened with better ball (fourballs) in 1997 at Valderrama. U.S. captain Ben Crenshaw switched back to alternate shot in 1999 at Brookline, but the last three Ryder Cup matches have started with better ball.[4]. [edit] Founding of the Cup There is some debate over who suggested the idea for the Ryder Cup. James Harnett, a journalist with Golf Illustrated magazine appears to have proposed a similar idea to the USPGA on December 15, 1920 and, having failed to attract support, the idea was refloated by Sylvanus P. "SP" Jermain, president of the Inverness Club, the next year. This resulted in an unofficial match in 1921, won 9–3 by the British, and another in 1926, won 13½–1½ by Britain. Present at the second 1926 match, held on the East Course at Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, was Samuel Ryder, a seed merchant who traded from St Albans, Hertfordshire. Having watched the play, Mr Ryder thought it would be good idea to make the match official and thus the Ryder Cup was founded, with Ryder donating the trophy.[5] Few people who took up golf after their 50th birthday have left as many positive impressions on the game during the history of golf. To get started Ryder recruited the services of a golf professional called Hill from a local golf course to introduce him to the fundamentals of golf. Afterwards Ryder hired Abe Mitchell as his private tutor for a fee of £1,000 per year. Ryder received most of his lessons at his home, Marlborough House, and he was relentless. He practised his driving, pitching and putting six days each week. At the age of 51 he had achieved a handicap of six and was accepted as a member of the Verulam Golf Club in St Albans in 1910. A year later he became captain of the golf club. He was also club captain in 1926 and 1927. In 1923 he sponsored the Heath and Heather Tournament which was only open to professionals. One of the golf professionals that took part was ex-gardener Abe Mitchell, considered one of best British golfers of his era. Among the British, at the 1926 landmark match, were golfing giants Abe Mitchell, George Duncan, Archie Compston, Ted Ray (portrayed by Stephen Marcus in the 2005 film The Greatest Game Ever Played), and Arthur Havers. From America came Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour, Jim Barnes and Al Watrous. This first official match was held in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the Worcester Country Club, in 1927. Ryder, who donated a gold cup and had agreed to pay £5 to each member of the winning team, attached his name to the new competition. It has been held on a two year cycle since, apart from 1939 to 1945 when it was cancelled due to World War II. The 2001 match was delayed for a year, as it was due to take place very shortly after the September 11 attacks. It was subsequently decided to hold the Ryder Cup in even-numbered years instead of odd-numbered years. The boards at The Brabazon Course at The Belfry, which hosted the 2002 Ryder Cup (which should have been hosted in 2001) still read The 2001 Ryder Cup and USA captain Curtis Strange deliberately referred to the US team as "The 2001 Ryder Cup Team" in his speech at the closing ceremony. Europe claimed their first hat-trick of victories in 2002, 2004 and 2006: this was particularly surprising as no European player won a single Major in that time period (Americans won fifteen). [edit] Controversial Ryder Cups [edit] 1969 The 1969 Cup held at Royal Birkdale was perhaps one of the best and most competitive contests in terms of play (18 of the 32 matches went to the last green), but it was also marred by acrimony and gamesmanship between some players. In one of golf's most memorable moments of sportsmanship, Jack Nicklaus, playing in his first Ryder Cup Matches, conceded a two-footer to Tony Jacklin after making a four-footer for par on the last green. The 'gimme' was very generous; Jacklin was far from assured of making it. Nicklaus said: 'I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity.' The result was the first tie in the Matches' history (the US retained the Cup) but some of Nicklaus' teammates including captain Sam Snead were less than pleased. [edit] 1991 After accusing each other of cheating at The Belfry in 1989, the feud between Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger escalated at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in 1991. Azinger: 'I can tell you we're not trying to cheat.' Ballesteros: 'Oh no. Breaking the rules and cheating are two different things.' The constant goading intensified their desire to win and with their partners, José María Olazábal and Chip Beck respectively, they produced what is regarded as the best pairs match in history, the Spaniards winning 2&1. [edit] 1999 Main article: 1999 Ryder Cup The 1999 Ryder Cup held at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., caused great controversy. A remarkable comeback by the American team helped propel the U.S. to a 14.5-13.5 victory after trailing 10-6 heading into the final day. The U.S. went 8-3-1 in singles matches to seal the first American victory since 1993. The competition turned on the 17th hole of a match between American Justin Leonard and Spaniard José María Olazábal. The match being all square at the 17th hole, Leonard needed to earn at least a half-point by either winning one of the last two holes (therefore earning a full point), or finishing the match at all square (therefore earning a half-point) to seal an American victory. After Olazábal's second shot left him with a 22-foot putt on the par-4, Leonard hit his shot within 10 feet of the hole and then watched it roll away from the cup, leaving him with a 45-foot putt for birdie. While sinking a putt of this length is unlikely, Leonard had made putts of 25 and 35 feet earlier in the round. Leonard holed the astounding putt, and a wild celebration ensued with other U.S. players, their wives, and a few fans running onto the green. Had Leonard's putt sealed the match, this type of behavior would have been inappropriate but moot. Knowing that a made putt would extend the match while a miss would assure Leonard of a half-point and the U.S. a victory (the Americans needed 14.5 points to gain the cup due to the Europeans' 1997 victory at Valderrama), Olazábal tried to regain his focus. However, he missed the difficult putt, and the American team celebrated once again (although the second celebration was more reserved than the first one). According to the "Best of the Rest" section of ESPN's Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame program, NBC footage and press photos prove that no official rules (Ryder Cup or PGA) were broken when the Americans celebrated after Leonard's putt (i.e. no one walked in or crossed Olazábal's putting line). However, the game of golf is upheld by many to be "the gentleman's game," and there remain a number of unwritten rules and codes of conduct which the European players believe were being ignored. Many of the American players believed the Europeans' response was hypocritical; they argued that European players - in particular Severiano Ballesteros - had been guilty of excessive celebration and gamesmanship as far back as the 1985 Ryder Cup match, without attracting the same opprobrium from the European media. There was still considerable bad blood after the match with some of the European players complaining about the behavior of the American galleries throughout the match. Sam Torrance branded it "disgusting," while European captain Mark James referred to it as a "bear pit" in a book recounting the event[6]. There were also reports that his wife was spat at by a spectator.[7] Following the 1999 Ryder Cup, a number of the members of the U.S. team apologized for their behavior, and there were numerous attempts by both teams to calm the increasing nationalism of the event. These efforts appears to have been largely successful with subsequent Cups being played in the "spirit of the game." [edit] Results ^ - Delayed one year due to September 11th attacks. NB: The 1969 and 1989 tournaments were drawn, so the Cup remained with the previous victors. European Home Match History * 1929-1969 Flag of the United Kingdom Team Great Britain were the hosts of their home Ryder Cup Matches. [edit] Future sites * 2008 Flag of the United States Valhalla Golf Club (Louisville, Kentucky) [edit] Records [edit] Team * Most holes-in-one all-time: Europe 6 (US 1) [edit] Individual * Most appearances on team: 11 - Nick Faldo (Europe/GB&I), 1977-97 [8] [9] [edit] Ryder Cup holes-in-one * Peter Butler, 1973, Muirfield [10] For individual European player records see List of European Ryder Cup golfers. For individual American player records see List of American Ryder Cup golfers. [edit] Similar events in golf Other regular international team golf events include: * Solheim Cup — The women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, featuring the same U.S. vs. Europe format, played in the years the Ryder Cup is not played. [edit] Similar events in other sports * Mosconi Cup — Nine-ball pool [edit] Notes 1. ^ Britain won only once between 1947 and 1977, and matches were frequently very one-sided. [edit] See also * List of American Ryder Cup golfers [edit] External links * Official Website v • d • e v • d • e
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