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The 2016 Ryder Cup matches will be held at
the end of the month at Hazeltine Golf Club
near Minneapolis, Minnesota. They only occur
every two years and have become one of the
most anticipated sporting events in the world.
Even non-golfers stop in the middle of football
season to follow the action between teams from
the United States and Europe. It wasn’t always
this way for the Ryder Cup, it nearly became
extinct due to apathy and poor performances
by teams from Great Britain & Ireland after
WW II.
In 19 Ryder Cup matches held between 1947-
1983, the team from Great Britain & Ireland
only managed a single win and one tie. Since
the 1985 Ryder Cup held at The Belfry in
England, the matches have taken an entirely
different tone, however.
In the 1970’s the Ryder Cup was becoming
irrelevant due to the inequity of the talent of
the two competing teams. The U.S. Team, with
big-name stars like Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper
and Jack Nicklaus steam rolled the weaker
Great Britain & Ireland team every two years.
In 1977, Nicklaus had lunch with The Earl of
Darbywhowas the President of the Professional
Golfers Association and suggested that golfers
from all of continental Europe become eligible
for team membership.
This allowed SeveBallesteros, aswell as, several
other leading European golfers the chance to
compete and strengthen the European team.
The change took some time to produce results,
but since 1985 the Europeans have won nine
Ryder Cups, plus a return to the Belfry in 1989
ended in a tie.
Ryder Cup
Preview
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