Team golf match
The
37th Ryder Cup Matches
were held September 19?21,
2008
, in the
United States
at
Valhalla Golf Club
in
Louisville, Kentucky
. Team USA won 16
1
⁄
2
? 11
1
⁄
2
to end the streak of three successive victories for Europe. This was USA's largest margin of victory since
1981
and the first time since
1979
that the Americans had held the lead after every session of play. The team captains were
Paul Azinger
for the US and
Nick Faldo
for Europe.
The U.S. team had been in the lead since the contest began on the Friday. Europe was two points behind going into the Sunday singles matches. They had only previously overturned a deficit once before, in
1995
. USA won the majority of the first matches out and subsequently
Jim Furyk
defeated
Miguel Angel Jimenez
2 & 1 to win his match and win the Ryder Cup for the USA.
[1]
Other matches still out on the course would see this margin of victory increase further. Following the defeat
Nick Faldo
was heavily criticised for his decision to "bottom load" his best players in the singles when the Americans only needed 5
1
⁄
2
points to win which they got before they could have any effect on the overall outcome.
Television
[
edit
]
All matches were covered live in the United States.
ESPN
handled Friday coverage.
Mike Tirico
and
Andy North
hosted from the 18th tower, with
Curtis Strange
calling holes, and on-course reporters
Billy Kratzert
and
Judy Rankin
. With Azinger, ESPN's lead analyst, captaining the U.S. team, North was moved to the booth to fill Azinger's seat.
NBC Sports
covered the weekend action, with
Dan Hicks
and
Johnny Miller
hosting from the 18th tower,
Gary Koch
and
Bob Murphy
calling holes, and on-course reporters
Mark Rolfing
,
Roger Maltbie
, and
Dottie Pepper
.
Format
[
edit
]
The
Ryder Cup
is a
match play
event, with each match worth one point. The competition format used in 2008 was:
- Day 1
(Friday)?four
foursomes
(alternate shot) matches in the morning session and four
fourball
(better ball) matches in the afternoon
- Day 2
(Saturday)?four foursome matches in the morning and four fourball matches in the afternoon
- Day 3
(Sunday)?12 singles matches
[2]
With a total of 28 points available, 14
1
⁄
2
points were required to win the cup, and 14 points for the defending champion to retain it. All matches were played over a maximum 18 holes.
[3]
For the first time since 1995, the opening matches featured foursomes. US captain Paul Azinger chose the format, hoping to give his team an early advantage in
Kentucky
. Foursomes was used in the first sessions of every event since 1981 until European captain
Seve Ballesteros
opened with better ball (fourball) in 1997 at
Valderrama
.
[4]
Team qualification and selection
[
edit
]
United States
[
edit
]
The selection process was radically changed for 2008. The United States team consisted of:
- The top eight players on the Ryder Cup Points List
- Points gained from money earned in
majors
in 2007 and official PGA tour events in 2008 up to
August 10
(i.e. up to and including money earned at the
2008 PGA Championship
). Money earned in 2008 majors counted double and money earned in 2008 events played opposite the majors or
World Golf Championships
counted half. The new points system was only announced in November 2006 after the previous system had started. Under the previous system players earned points from August 27, 2006, when they finished in the top 10 in official events. Because of the late change to the qualification rules, players who had finished in the top 10 during the period from August 27 to November 5, 2006, were awarded a quarter of a point for every $1,000 earned.
- Four captain's picks
Europe
[
edit
]
The qualification process was the same as in 2006. The European team consisted of:
- The top five players on the Ryder Cup World Points List
- The five players, not qualified above, on the Ryder Cup European Points List
- Money earned in official
European Tour
events from
6 September
2007 to
31 August
2008
- Two captain's picks
The final line-up for the European team was announced after the
Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles
on August 31, 2008.
Søren Hansen
,
Oliver Wilson
and
Justin Rose
were the last three automatic qualifiers after successful tournaments.
Nick Faldo
handed wildcards to
Paul Casey
and
Ian Poulter
.
[5]
Teams
[
edit
]
Captains
[
edit
]
The team captains were Paul Azinger for the US and Nick Faldo for Europe.
Vice-captains
[
edit
]
The USA vice-captains were
Olin Browne
,
Raymond Floyd
and
Dave Stockton
.
The only European vice-captain was
Jose Maria Olazabal
.
Paul McGinley
had been announced as a vice-captain in May 2007 but resigned in September 2007.
Players
[
edit
]
Team USA
|
Name
|
Age
|
Residence
|
Points
rank
|
World
ranking
|
Previous
Ryder Cups
|
Matches
|
W?L?H
|
Winning
percentage
|
Phil Mickelson
|
38
|
Rancho Santa Fe, California
|
2
|
2
|
6
|
25
|
9?12?4
|
44.00
|
Stewart Cink
|
35
|
Duluth, Georgia
|
3
|
11
|
3
|
12
|
3?5?4
|
41.67
|
Kenny Perry
|
48
|
Franklin, Kentucky
|
4
|
20
|
1
|
2
|
0?2?0
|
0.00
|
Jim Furyk
|
38
|
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
|
5
|
9
|
5
|
20
|
6?12?2
|
35.00
|
Anthony Kim
|
23
|
Dallas, Texas
|
6
|
10
|
0
|
Rookie
|
Justin Leonard
|
36
|
Dallas, Texas
|
7
|
23
|
2
|
8
|
0?3?5
|
31.25
|
Ben Curtis
|
31
|
Stow, Ohio
|
8
|
30
|
0
|
Rookie
|
Boo Weekley
|
35
|
Jay, Florida
|
9
|
35
|
0
|
Rookie
|
Steve Stricker
|
41
|
Madison, Wisconsin
|
10
|
8
|
0
|
Rookie
|
Hunter Mahan
|
26
|
Plano, Texas
|
13
|
36
|
0
|
Rookie
|
J. B. Holmes
|
26
|
Campbellsville, Kentucky
|
18
|
56
|
0
|
Rookie
|
Chad Campbell
|
34
|
Colleyville, Texas
|
21
|
57
|
2
|
6
|
1?3?2
|
33.33
|
Tiger Woods
was the leading player on the points list but was recovering from knee surgery and unable to compete. Captains picks are shown in yellow; the
world rankings
and records are at the start of the 2008 Ryder Cup.
Team Europe
|
Name
|
Age
|
Residence
|
Points rank
(World)
|
Points rank
(European)
|
World
ranking
|
Previous
Ryder Cups
|
Matches
|
W?L?H
|
Winning
percentage
|
Padraig Harrington
|
37
|
Dublin
, Ireland
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
4
|
17
|
7?8?2
|
47.06
|
Sergio Garcia
|
28
|
Borriol
, Spain
|
2
|
14
|
5
|
4
|
20
|
14?4?2
|
75.00
|
Lee Westwood
|
35
|
Worksop
, England
|
3
|
2
|
12
|
5
|
25
|
14?8?3
|
62.00
|
Henrik Stenson
|
32
|
Gothenburg
, Sweden
|
4
|
5
|
7
|
1
|
3
|
1?1?1
|
50.00
|
Robert Karlsson
|
39
|
Monte Carlo
, Monaco
|
5
|
3
|
17
|
1
|
3
|
0?1?2
|
33.33
|
Miguel Angel Jimenez
|
44
|
Malaga
, Spain
|
6
|
4
|
19
|
2
|
9
|
2?5?2
|
33.33
|
Graeme McDowell
|
29
|
Portrush
, Northern Ireland
|
9
|
6
|
32
|
0
|
Rookie
|
Justin Rose
|
28
|
London
, England
|
7
|
7
|
13
|
0
|
Rookie
|
Søren Hansen
|
34
|
Copenhagen
, Denmark
|
13
|
8
|
42
|
0
|
Rookie
|
Oliver Wilson
|
28
|
Weybridge
, England
|
15
|
9
|
48
|
0
|
Rookie
|
Ian Poulter
|
32
|
Milton Keynes
, England
|
8
|
12
|
29
|
1
|
2
|
1?1?0
|
50.00
|
Paul Casey
|
31
|
Esher
, England
|
16
|
18
|
38
|
2
|
6
|
3?1?2
|
66.67
|
Captains picks are shown in yellow; the
world rankings
and records are at the start of the 2008 Ryder Cup.
Friday's matches
[
edit
]
Morning foursomes
[
edit
]
The morning foursomes began well for Team Europe, as they took the lead in all four matches within the first hour. However, things changed by the end of the morning, with Team USA ending the session up 3?1, marking the first time since the last American win in
1999
that Team USA held the lead at the end of any Ryder Cup session.
[6]
Afternoon four-ball
[
edit
]
The afternoon session was almost a replay of the morning session. Team Europe led after the front nine in three of the four matches, but only won one. Team USA ended up with its largest lead after the first day since Europe was first included in the Ryder Cup in
1979
.
[6]
[7]
Saturday's matches
[
edit
]
Morning foursomes
[
edit
]
Afternoon four-ball
[
edit
]
Sunday's singles matches
[
edit
]
Individual player records
[
edit
]
Each entry refers to the win?loss?half record of the player.
Source:
[8]
United States
[
edit
]
Europe
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Dorman, Larry (September 21, 2008).
"United States Takes Back the Ryder Cup"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on October 31, 2021
. Retrieved
September 25,
2020
.
- ^
Praverman, Frank (September 21, 2008).
"How the Ryder Cup was won"
.
Times Online
. London.
Archived
from the original on December 2, 2008
. Retrieved
May 4,
2009
.
- ^
"Ryder Cup explained"
.
BBC Sport
. September 16, 2008.
Archived
from the original on January 13, 2009
. Retrieved
July 2,
2009
.
- ^
"Azinger changes format; alternate shot first"
. Ryder Cup. Archived from
the original
on February 9, 2008
. Retrieved
January 30,
2008
.
- ^
"Casey and Poulter given wildcards"
. BBC Sport. August 31, 2008.
Archived
from the original on May 4, 2009
. Retrieved
May 4,
2009
.
- ^
a
b
Ferguson, Doug (September 19, 2008).
"Americans charge into lead at Ryder Cup"
.
Yahoo! Sports
.
Associated Press
.
Archived
from the original on May 28, 2009
. Retrieved
September 19,
2008
.
- ^
Orlovac, Mark (September 19, 2008).
"US surge clear as Europe struggle"
. BBC Sport.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2008
. Retrieved
May 4,
2009
.
- ^
"2014 Ryder Cup Media and Players' Guide"
. Archived from
the original
on October 6, 2014
. Retrieved
October 5,
2014
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
United States vs. Great Britain
| |
---|
United States vs. Great Britain and Ireland
| |
---|
United States vs. Europe
| |
---|
Statistics and lists
| |
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38°14′31″N
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/
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/
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