Written by Stephen Moloney (www.twitter.com/TheCheeky9)
One of the most popular articles I’ve ever done on here is where I looked at how a Ryder Cup-style match between a European team and an American team made up of each side’s top six ranked male golfers in the World Rankings and each of their top six female golfers from this year’s Solheim Cup Rankings might play out if it were ever to take place – an article you can now go read by clicking right here … and, you know what they say, you should always give into peer pressure.
So, because I neither have the resources nor requisite ‘internet savvy’ to have a click farm generate fifty million clicks on that article and land me a cushy number with ‘Golf Digest’ off the back of it, I thought it would be interesting to see how another fantasy Ryder Cup might play out – except this time I’m looking at “The Legends”.
Now what exactly do I mean by “Legends”? Well, that’s quite simple; I just mean those twelve Europeans and Americans who, having played in at least five Ryder Cups, have scored the most amount of points in the history of the match.
And here’s how the teams stack up against one another:
| Team Europe | Points Tally | Team U.S.A. | Points Tally |
| Sergio Garcia | 25½ | Billy Casper | 23½ |
| Nick Faldo | 25 | Arnold Palmer | 23 |
| Bernhard Langer | 24 | Phil Mickelson | 21½ |
| Colin Montgomerie | 23½ | Lanny Wadkins | 21½ |
| Lee Westwood | 23 | Lee Trevino | 20 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 22½ | Jack Nicklaus | 18½ |
| José María Olazábal | 20½ | Gene Littler | 18 |
| Tony Jacklin | 17 | Tom Kite | 17 |
| Ian Woosnam | 16½ | Tiger Woods | 14½ |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 15½ | Hale Irwin | 14 |
| Bernard Gallacher | 15½ | Raymond Floyd | 13½ |
| Neil Coles | 15½ | Jim Furyk | 12 |
Now, when I wrote the article which preceded this one, I noted how, on paper, the American side was just that little bit stronger looking than their European counterparts, due, in part, to their superiority with regards to the positions of their players in the World Rankings. Well, when you look at this particular American team on paper, I don’t think you can help but acknowledge that it, too, is incredibly strong looking. I mean, from an ‘individual’ perspective, every single one of those twelve players have won at least one Major championship and, between them, have amassed an eye watering 65 Majors – or, to put it another way, they’ve won 20 Green Jackets; 19 U.S. Opens; 11 Claret Jugs; and 15 Wanamakers.
Compare that, then, to the European side and … well, we’re soundly beaten. Of the twelve men on the team, only seven of them have managed to actually break through and capture a Major, doing so, between them, a total of 19 times for a haul of 11 Green Jackets; 1 U.S. Open; 7 Claret Jugs; and 0 Wanamakers.
However, just like in that previous article where I noted how World Rankings mean absolutely nothing when it comes to deciding how these kinds of events play out, how many Majors your team happens to have spread between them is every bit as meaningless – unless you’re allowed to use the trophies you have at your disposal to stymie your opponent … which, just to be clear, you aren’t in this scenario.
And because of that, if I’m to say which team I think is the stronger? I’d have to go with the Europeans. Our total points tally is larger than the Americans’ (244 to 217). Our top scorer (Sergio Garcia) outscores America’s (Billy Casper) by two whole points. And our three lowest scoring members, Peter Oosterhuis, Bernard Gallacher and Neil Coles, outscore the American’s four lowest placed members Tiger Woods, Hale Irwin, Raymond Floyd and Jim Furyk with their tally of 15½ points apiece.
Now, you could, of course, make the very valid argument that we shouldn’t look too much into points and the differences which lie therein because not everyone in that above table has played in the same amount of Ryder Cups and matches, so therefore it’s not exactly fair to measure ‘points won’ when not everyone has had the same amount of opportunities to do just that. Having thought about it extensively, however, I think that everything balances out enough between the amount of points each player has actually won in the three different formats (foursomes, fourballs & singles) that we should, indeed, use them, regardless of the number of appearances and matches players have had.
Because, ultimately, ‘winning points’ or, at a minimum, ensuring that you never leave the course without something is what the Ryder Cup is all about – no matter how many times you might get the opportunity to actually go out and try and do just that. And if you look at the numbers, in this instance, the European side is just more adept at doing that than the Americans – and it’s for that very reason why, despite how strong the team sporting the red, white and blue undoubtedly are, I think those donned in the blue and yellow of Europe are just that tad stronger … well, ‘on paper’, at least.
The Rules of Engagement
Before I get down to the business of making the pairings and singles, let’s “cross the t’s and dot the i’s” for how this match will be played out:
(i) Given the first official Ryder Cup match was played at the Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1927, I feel it only right that a fantasy match such as this be contested Stateside; so, just like the previous instalment in this series, the links of Whistling Straits will be the venue – which means home advantage, again, for the Americans.
(ii) Unsurprisingly, this match will follow the same pattern as that of all modern Ryder Cups, with one session of foursomes and fourballs over each of the first two days of competition, followed by singles on Sunday. As there was only but a single session of foursomes on the Friday of the match in 1927 – followed then by just eight singles matches on the Saturday before handing out the trophy – we’ll just say the order for our fantasy match will be foursomes in the morning and fourballs in the afternoon over Friday and Saturday, with the twelve singles matches, obviously, closing out the show on Sunday.
(iii) For the sake of making it somewhat fairer to decide the results of each game held throughout the course of the three days of play, I’ve decided that, unlike my last article, I’m going to take each player’s individual points tally in each of the formats and directly compare them against one another, with the highest number winning. So, for example, if an American foursomes pairing with a combined total of 12 foursomes points between them were playing a European pairing with 14 foursomes points between them, the European side would win the match – and, as you can clearly see, having an advanced degree in some branch of mathematics comes in very useful when reading my articles.
(iv) Carrying on from the above point, barring a situation where matches end all-square, I will use the difference between individual’s and pairings’ points totals to decide what the score of each match shall be, as opposed to just surmising based on my own personal opinion. So, again, for example, if one pairings’ total number of points is 14 and their opponents’ is 12, then the former will win the match, but as there is a difference of 2 between their points totals, they would win the match “2UP”.
So, we got all that?
Cool. Then let’s jump right into Friday and how I think the matches might have gone – winners are marked in bold & numbers within {brackets} denote how many total points that golfer has won in that particular format.
Friday
| U.S.A | Friday Foursomes | Europe |
| Arnold Palmer {9} & Billy Casper {9} | 3&2 | Bernhard Langer {11½} & Colin Montgomerie {9½} |
| Jack Nicklaus {8} & Lanny Wadkins {9} | 1UP | Nick Faldo {11} & Ian Woosnam {5} |
| Lee Trevino{6} & Hale Irwin {6} | 6&5 | Seve Ballesteros {10½} & José María Olazábal {7½} |
| Phil Mickelson {7} & Tom Kite {7½} | 1UP | Tony Jacklin {10} & Peter Oosterhuis {3½} |
| 2 | – | 2 |
Unsurprisingly, both teams sent out incredibly strong pairings on the first morning of play to try and insure as fast a start as possible, but each Captain took a rather different stance on what ‘strong’ meant for them. For the Americans, it meant putting out their eight players with the highest amount of points in the foursomes; whilst the Europeans decided to spare some of their higher foursomes earners in lieu of putting out more well-established pairings who had played together several times before – and when I say “several times”, I mean 39 times between them. And, as it transpired, both approaches worked equally well, as each side came away with 2 precious points apiece to take into the afternoon fourballs – though those points were a little more difficult for the Americans to come by, as each of them needed birdies on 18 to insure the red, white and blue didn’t go into the first afternoon of the weekend trailing.
| U.S.A | Friday Fourballs | Europe |
| Arnold Palmer {7} & Gene Littler {7} | 5&4 | Sergio Garcia {9½} & Lee Westwood {9½} |
| Raymond Floyd {5½} & Jack Nicklaus {5½} | 3&2 | Neil Coles {4} & Bernard Gallacher {4½} |
| Tiger Woods {5} & Phil Mickelson {9} | A/S | Bernhard Langer {7} & Colin Montgomerie {7} |
| Lanny Wadkins {7½} & Billy Casper {7½} | 4&3 | Seve Ballesteros {9} & José María Olazábal {10½} |
| 3½ | – | 4½ |
The Europeans took the initiative early on in the afternoon fourballs with Garcia & Westwood taking down Palmer & Littler – who sat out the morning session – in the top match, before Floyd & Nicklaus levelled proceedings by taking the spoils against Coles & Gallacher in a close fought encounter in the second match out.
Though the third match swung back and forth, with the momentum ebbing one way and then the other, nothing could separate the pairings of Woods & Mickelson and Montgomerie & Langer, so they both had to settle for half a point each after clocking up matching pars on the difficult par 4 18th.
With both sides taking 1½ points from the first three matches out, however, the match between the final four men left on the course suddenly became all that more important as a win would see one of the sides take a never-to-be-sniffed-at lead into Saturday. And, fortunately for the Europeans, their pairing in that final match happened to be the formidable duo of Severiano Ballersteros & José María Olazábal, who saw off Wadkins & Casper thanks to a chip-in birdie from Seve on the par 4 15th.
When play would resume in the morning, there would be but a single point between the two teams, with the Europeans on 4½ points to the Americans’ 3½.
Saturday
| U.S.A | Saturday Foursomes | Europe |
| Arnold Palmer {9} & Jack Nicklaus {8} | 3&2 | Bernhard Langer {11½} & Colin Montgomerie {9½} |
| Hale Irwin {6} & Lee Trevino {6} | 5&4 | Sergio Garcia {11½} & Bernard Gallacher {5½} |
| Billy Casper {9} & Lanny Wadkins {9} | 1UP | Ian Woosnam {5} & Lee Westwood {12} |
| Phil Mickelson {7} & Tom Kite {7½} | 7&6 | Tony Jacklin {10} & Nick Faldo {11} |
| 4½ | – | 7½ |
Knowing the importance of nipping any lead in the bud as soon as possible, the American Captain, once again, sent the exact same guys out onto the course for Saturday’s foursomes as he’d done the previous morning, with the one minor change being Nicklaus was now paired with Palmer in the top match against Langer & Montgomerie, whilst Palmer’s partner from the previous morning, Billy Casper, was teamed up with Lanny Wadkins to try and take down the new European pairing of Woosnam & Westwood. And though the latter managed to succeed in doing just that, Palmer & Nicklaus couldn’t pull off the same result against the stalwart pairing of Langer & Montgomerie who, just like 24 hours previously, needed only 16 holes to put another win in the bank for Team Europe.
In fact, bar Woosnam & Westwood, none of the other European pairings made it down the 18th either, such was their dominance in the session. Garcia & Gallacher handed Irwin & Trevino their second consecutive defeat in the foursomes with a birdie on 14, whilst Jacklin & Faldo needed just 12 holes to put away Mickelson & Kite and take the American pair’s foursomes record to 1-1 for the week.
And the ultimate result of that dominance? Europe were suddenly 3 full points clear heading into the second and final session of fourballs, meaning this match was very much in danger of getting to a point of being ‘unrescuable’ from an American perspective.
| U.S.A | Saturday Fourballs | Europe |
| Phil Mickelson {9} & Lanny Wadkins {7} | 5&4 | Ian Woosnam {10½} & José María Olazábal {10½} |
| Billy Casper {7½} & Arnold Palmer {7} | 5&4 | Sergio Garcia {9½} & Lee Westwood {9½} |
| Gene Littler {7} & Lee Trevino {7} | 2&1 | Seve Ballesteros {9} & Nick Faldo {7½} |
| Raymond Floyd {5½} & Jack Nicklaus {5½} | 3&2 | Bernhard Langer {7} & Colin Montgomerie {7} |
| 4½ | – | 11½ |
When the pairings for Saturday’s fourballs came through, it became blatantly apparent that both Captains had identified this session as being the one to win. Each sides’ top fourball scorers had been paired up and sent out with the exact same mission: Win. The only difference, however, was that both teams were heading into the session with two very different mindsets. On the American side, they needed a cleansweep in order to give themselves a chance heading into the Sunday singles at taking home the trophy. Whilst on the European side, one very much got the impression that they smelled blood and were looking to deliver a devastating body blow to insure those in the stars and stripes of ‘Old Glory’ came out staggering in the singles.
And, as it transpired, ‘a cleansweep’ was the exact thing that happened. The only problem for the Americans, however, was that it was them on the receiving end of it; meaning, come the end of a torrid afternoon, they were a massive 7 points adrift of the heavy hitting Europeans heading into Sunday.
Yet, as desperate as the Americans’ situation may have appeared, there’s a reason why the 1999 and 2012 Ryder Cups are better known as “The Battle of Brookline” and “The Miracle at Medinah”.
Because the Ryder Cup isn’t over until it’s over.
So … “The Showdown on the Straits” anyone?
Sunday
| U.S.A | Sunday Singles | Europe |
| Jack Nicklaus {5} | 2UP | Colin Montgomerie {7} |
| Billy Casper {7} | A/S | Neil Coles {7} |
| Arnold Palmer {7} | 1UP | Peter Oosterhuis {6½} |
| Lee Trevino {7} | 1UP | Bernard Gallacher {6} |
| Gene Littler {6½} | 2UP | Sergio Garcia {4½} |
| Tiger Woods {5} | 2UP | Seve Ballesteros {3} |
| Tom Kite {6} | 3&2 | Lee Westwood {3} |
| Jim Furyk {4} | 3&2 | IanWoosnam {1} |
| Hale Irwin {4} | 2&1 | José María Olazábal {2½} |
| Lanny Wadkins {5} | 1UP | Bernhard Langer {5½} |
| Phil Mickelson {5½} | 3&2 | Tony Jacklin {2½} |
| Raymond Floyd {4} | 2&1 | Nick Faldo {6½} |
| 13 | – | 15 |
Well, the Americans almost pulled it off. 8½ points from a possible 12? With 7½ of those coming from the first nine matches? It was one hell of a performance. Though the Europeans must have been close to popping the champagne when Montgomerie and Nicklaus shook hands on the 18th after the Scotsman extended his unbeaten streak in the singles and had gotten them within just two points of the Cup, it was a good job those corks stayed firmly in place for, once Neil Coles had salvaged half a point against Billy Casper in the second match out, Europe weren’t left with anything to celebrate as a sea of red proceeded to sweep the board – and, apparently, good news was catching.
After Palmer and Trevino went the distance against Oosterhuis and Gallacher respectively before picking up their wins, Littler, Woods, Kite, Furyk and Irwin all followed them into the clubhouse with points in their back pockets that saw the seven point lead the Europeans had carried into the singles whittled down to just a solitary point with three matches left out on the course. With the Americans needing two and a half points from those final three matches in order to win the Cup and Europe needing just a point and a half, it turned out the former of those two goals was just too high a mountain to climb for the Americans as the Europeans ended up taking the triptych of matches on a score of 2 to 1.
Meaning the champagne could finally be popped in the European team room, for the Ryder Cup was, indeed, heading back across the Atlantic … but only by the finest of margins.
Or, in other words, just how Samuel Ryder would have liked it.
_____________________________________________________________________________
So, after a scare in the singles, I have Europe taking the Cup back home. Now, you may not agree with the result, how I scored the individual matches over the three days or even the pairings I put out together, and that’s fine – that’s what articles like this are supposed to do … create new ways for you to hurt my feelings.
But if you end up taking anything away from reading this article, I hope it’s the same thing I will after writing it – and that is a newfound appreciation for how bloody great the Ryder Cup is. Because a few years from now, when the Ryder Cup has been and gone in Adare, and we’re ringing in 2027 on a balmy December night because nothing has still been done about climate change, we’ll be a full century removed from the first official match that started it all; a match where the only prize was that of a trophy sponsored by an English businessman who’d only started playing golf at the age of 50 and involved but two days of play between a total of sixteen players. And, yet, what transpired over those two June days within the leafy surrounds of Worcester Country Club in Massachussets – an event which ended in a landslide victory for the Walter Hagen-led American team – sowed the seeds for the global phenomenon we recognise the Ryder Cup as now being today.
Because amidst all the fanfare which now accompanies every aspect of the Ryder Cup, from the announcement of venues to the picking of Captains, what’s seen it survive the trials and tribulations of the mid-20th century and then thrive to the point where it is today, I think, is that, at its heart, the pure, unadulterated simplicity of ‘healthy competition’, of ‘you versus us’, from which it was first born, is not only still there, but it now makes for an utterly enthralling spectacle where golfers, who are usually competing for vast sums of money, for one three-day spell every two years, are competing for one thing and one thing alone – the pride of winning on behalf of where they’re from.
So, yeah, we’ll never see how the above match might actually play out, but the good news is we’re only nine months away from seeing how the next one will – and that’ll do me just grand.