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generosity that he took
a collection among the
professionals and used the
funds to purchase a beautiful
clock that sits proudly in the
entry of the club today.
Jermain has been credited with
the ideaofholdinga tournament
featuring the best amateurs from
Great Britain and the United
States in a team competition.
He first mentioned it to George
Sargent, the President of the
PGA of America, after the 1920
U.S. Open.
Sargent was quoted in the
Toledo News-Bee in 1931,
“The credit for the idea (of
the Ryder Cup) should go to
Sylvanus P. Jermain of Toledo,
who made the suggestion back
in 1921, the year after the U.S.
Open was staged at Inverness.”
The first such exhibitions
were held in 1921 and a
second competition was held
at Gleneagles in Scotland
in 1926, from which the
competition was born.
Sam Ryder witnessed the
1926 event and became so
enamored with the idea of the
team competition between
the two nations, that he
offered to supply the trophy
to the winning team, hence
the Ryder Cup.
Sam Ryder got his name on
the event that has become
such a huge success in the
world of golf, but the idea
stemmed from a forward-
thinking S.P. Jermain right
here in Toledo.
NWO Golf Links