With the Ryder Cup kicking off this week, the team at WorldWide Golf has put together some of the more unique and interesting stats and facts ahead of the 43rd staging of the competition.
From thousands of portions of Fish and Chips and the competition’s biggest winning margin to the leading points scorer and number of hole in ones, there’s something in here for every golf lover!
29%
The 2018 competition was the 42nd edition of the Ryder Cup, meaning six-time Major champion Phil Mickelson have been present for 29 percent of the tournament’s playings. Lefty also holds the all-time Ryder Cup appearances record with 12 outings while Nick Faldo represented Europe on 11 occasions.
8 & 7
The largest margin of victory in an 18-hole match at the Ryder Cup is 8 & 7 and has been achieved twice. The first was in 1987 when Tom Kite thrashed Howard Clark before Fred Couples defeated Ian Woosnam by the same margin in 1997.
12
No duo has recorded more victories or total points than Ryder Cup legends Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábel. The Spaniards had a record of 11 victories to just two losses and two halves while there total of 12 points is twice as many as the nearest partnerships of Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke as well as Sir Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam who each have recorded six total points.
6
There has been a total of six holes-in-one in the Ryder Cup history books, starting with Peter Bulter’s ace in 1973 at Muirfield. The most recent holes-in-one, and also the longest, came at the 213-yard 14th hole at The K Club in 2006. The first came from Paul Casey during Saturday Foursomes, and Scott Verplank had the second during Sunday’s singles matches.
19
The youngest competitor at the Ryder Cup was Sergio Garcia. At the tender age of 19 years and 258 days, Garcia qualified for the 1999 European team that went on to lose 14.5-13.5 after holding a four point lead ahead of the final day.
3
There have only ever been 3 left-handed Ryder Cup competitors. The first lefty to compete in came in 1977, when Englishman Peter Dawson played on the final Great Britain & Ireland team. The other two have come in recent years, with Phil Mickelson making 10 Ryder Cup appearances and Bubba Watson competing in the last three contests.
13
From 1959 to 1983, the US won The Ryder Cup 13 consecutive times before an 18-foot birdie putt on the last by an emotional Sam Torrance sealed victory for Team Europe at The Belfry to put an end to the rot.
20,000
Approximately 20,000 portions of fish and chips, 15,000 quarter-pounder burgers, 7000 organic pies and 132,000 cans of beer were consumed during the 2010 Ryder Cup tournament played at Celtic Manor.
86
Since Europe first adopted Captain’s picks in 1979 – the first year Great Britain & Ireland expanded its roster to include Continental Europe – the players chosen have gone on to win 86 points. The US followed suit 10 years later with their Captain’s picks securing 66 points since then.
