38th RYDER CUP

Playing All 5 Matches In One Year

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By John Huggan

September 2010

Since the Great Britain & Ireland side added the rest of Europe in 1979, players who have played in all five matches in a competition (two foursomes, two four-ball, one singles) have a 38-40-16 record in singles for that year. European captains have been more likely to ask their stars to play all five matches, and those players are 21-29-9 in singles in years in which they play all five matches; Americans are 17-11-7 in singles after playing every match. Singles records for players for years in which they played every match, by number of points earned:

4½ points (4-0-1) Colin Montgomerie
3½ points (3-1-1) Tiger Woods
3 points (2-2-2) Seve Ballesteros
2½ points (2-1-1) Bernhard Langer
2½ points (2-3-1) Nick Faldo
2 points (2-3-0) Lee Westwood
1½ points (1-0-1) Paul Azinger, Fred Couples, Davis Love III, Hal Sutton, Sam Torrance
1 point (1-0-0) Stewart Cink, Raymond Floyd, Bernard Gallacher, Tom Kite, Paul Lawrie, Larry Nelson, Manuel Pinero, Ian Poulter, Craig Stadler, David Toms, Tom Watson, Paul Way
1 point (1-1-0) Padraig Harrington, Corey Pavin, Curtis Strange
1 point (0-1-2) Darren Clarke
1 point (1-2-0) Lanny Wadkins
1 point (1-3-0) Sergio Garcia
1 point (1-4-0) Jose Maria Olazabal
½ point (0-0-1) Hunter Mahan
½ point (0-1-1) Jim Furyk
½ point (0-2-1) Ian Woosnam
0 points (0-1-0) Brian Barnes, Mark Calcavecchia, Antonio Garrido, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Sandy Lyle, Jesper Parnevik, Costantino Rocca, Des Smyth, Fuzzy Zoeller
0 points (0-2-0) Mark James
0 points (0-3-0) Phil Mickelson

TELEVISION (all times Eastern)
Friday, Oct. 1, 3 a.m. to 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, Oct. 2, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Oct. 3, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. (NBC); closing ceremonies, 1-2 p.m. (ESPN)

MATCH-PLAY FORMAT
A win is one point; halved matches half a point.
Foursomes (alternate shot): Four matches on Friday and four on Saturday. Partners alternate hitting shots from the tee until the ball is holed.
Four-ball (better ball): Four matches on Friday and four on Saturday. Each partner plays his ball into the hole. The best ball of their two counts against the best of their opponents.
Singles: 12 matches on Sunday.