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 – 11 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. America won the majority of the first matches out and subsequently Jim Furyk defeated Miguel Ángel Jiménez 2 & 1 to win his match and win the Ryder Cup for the USA. 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 points to win which they got before the best Europeans could have any effect on the overall outcome.
Television 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 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
With a total of 28 points available, 14 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.
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.
Team qualification and selection
United States 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 (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 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 Total points earned in Official World Golf Ranking events from 2007 to 2008 and then only in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, which ended on August 31. The five players, not qualified above, on the Ryder Cup European Points List Money earned in official European Tour events from 2007 to 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.
Teams
Captains The team captains were Paul Azinger for the US and Nick Faldo for Europe.
Vice-captains The USA vice-captains were Olin Browne, Raymond Floyd and Dave Stockton.
The only European vice-captain was José María Olazábal. Paul McGinley had been announced as a vice-captain in May 2007 but resigned in September 2007.
Players Team USANameAgeResidencePointsrankWorldrankingPreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentagePhil Mickelson 38 Rancho Santa Fe, California 2 2 6 25 9–12–4 44.00Stewart Cink 35 Duluth, Georgia 3 11 3 12 3–5–4 41.67Kenny Perry 48 Franklin, Kentucky 4 20 1 2 0–2–0 0.00Jim Furyk 38 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 5 9 5 20 6–12–2 35.00Anthony Kim 23 Dallas, Texas 6 10 0 RookieJustin Leonard 36 Dallas, Texas 7 23 2 8 0–3–5 31.25Ben Curtis 31 Stow, Ohio 8 30 0 RookieBoo Weekley 35 Jay, Florida 9 35 0 RookieSteve Stricker 41 Madison, Wisconsin 10 8 0 RookieHunter Mahan 26 Plano, Texas 13 36 0 RookieJ. B. Holmes 26 Campbellsville, Kentucky 18 56 0 RookieChad 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 EuropeNameAgeResidencePoints rank(World)Points rank(European)WorldrankingPreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentage Pádraig Harrington 37 Dublin, Ireland 1 1 4 4 17 7–8–2 47.06 Sergio García 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 Ángel Jiménez 44 Málaga, 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
Morning foursomes 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. Results Harrington/KarlssonhalvedMickelson/KimStenson/Casey 3 & 2Leonard/MahanRose/Poulter 1 upCink/CampbellWestwood/GarcíahalvedPerry/Furyk 1 Session 3 1 Overall 3
Afternoon four-ball 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. Results Harrington/McDowell 2 upMickelson/KimPoulter/Rose 4 & 2Stricker/CurtisGarcía/Jiménez 4 & 3Leonard/MahanWestwood/HansenhalvedHolmes/Weekley 1 Session 2 2 Overall 5
Saturday's matches
Morning foursomes Results Poulter/Rose 4 & 3Cink/CampbellJiménez/McDowellhalvedLeonard/MahanStenson/Wilson 2 & 1Mickelson/KimHarrington/Karlsson 3 & 1Furyk/Perry 2 Session 1 5 Overall 7
Afternoon four-ball Results Westwood/Hansen 2 & 1Weekley/HolmesGarcía/CaseyhalvedCurtis/StrickerPoulter/McDowell 1 upPerry/FurykStenson/KarlssonhalvedMickelson/Mahan 2 Session 2 7 Overall 9
Sunday's singles matches Results Sergio García 5 & 4Anthony KimPaul CaseyhalvedHunter MahanRobert Karlsson 5 & 3Justin LeonardJustin Rose 3 & 2Phil MickelsonHenrik Stenson 3 & 2Kenny PerryOliver Wilson 4 & 2Boo WeekleySøren Hansen 2 & 1J. B. HolmesMiguel Ángel Jiménez 2 & 1Jim FurykGraeme McDowell 2 & 1Stewart CinkIan Poulter 3 & 2Steve StrickerLee Westwood 2 & 1Ben CurtisPádraig Harrington 2 & 1Chad Campbell 4 Session 7 11 Overall 16
Individual player records Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.
Source:
United States Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes FourballsChad Campbell 2 2–1–0 1–0–0 1–1–0 0–0–0Stewart Cink 1 1–2–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 0–0–0Ben Curtis 1.5 1–1–1 1–0–0 0–0–0 0–1–1Jim Furyk 2.5 2–1–1 1–0–0 1–0–1 0–1–0J. B. Holmes 2.5 2–0–1 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–0–1Anthony Kim 2.5 2–1–1 1–0–0 0–1–1 1–0–0Justin Leonard 2.5 2–1–1 0–1–0 1–0–1 1–0–0Hunter Mahan 3.5 2–0–3 0–0–1 1–0–1 1–0–1Phil Mickelson 2 1–2–2 0–1–0 0–1–1 1–0–1Kenny Perry 2.5 2–1–1 1–0–0 1–0–1 0–1–0Steve Stricker 0.5 0–2–1 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–1Boo Weekley 2.5 2–0–1 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–0–1
Europe Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes FourballsPaul Casey 1 0–1–2 0–0–1 0–1–0 0–0–1Sergio García 1 0–2–2 0–1–0 0–0–1 0–1–1Søren Hansen 0.5 0–2–1 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–1Pádraig Harrington 0.5 0–3–1 0–1–0 0–1–1 0–1–0Miguel Ángel Jiménez 0.5 0–2–1 0–1–0 0–0–1 0–1–0Robert Karlsson 2 1–1–2 1–0–0 0–1–1 0–0–1Graeme McDowell 2.5 2–1–1 1–0–0 0–0–1 1–1–0Ian Poulter 4 4–1–0 1–0–0 1–1–0 2–0–0Justin Rose 3 3–1–0 1–0–0 1–1–0 1–0–0Henrik Stenson 1.5 1–2–1 0–1–0 1–1–0 0–0–1Lee Westwood 1 0–2–2 0–1–0 0–0–1 0–1–1Oliver Wilson 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0 0–0–0
References
External links Official site Valhalla course site Full results