The 28th Ryder Cup Matches were held 22–24 September 1989 at The Belfry in Wishaw, Warwickshire, England, near Sutton Coldfield.

For only the second time, the competition ended in a draw at 14 points each, but the European team retained the Cup since they had won it outright in 1987. Europe held a two-point lead, 9 to 7, entering the singles matches on Sunday, and the match which retained the Cup for Europe was the eighth, between José María Cañizares and Ken Green. Cañizares made a two-foot (0.6 m) putt on the 18th green to win 1 up and give Europe a 14–10 lead, with four matches remaining on the course. The final four matches all resulted in U.S. wins and an overall draw.

This was the first Ryder Cup played in Europe to be televised live in the United States. It was carried by the USA Network on cable, with video provided by the BBC. The U.S. television coverage in 1985 was a highlight show on ESPN in early November, over a month after its completion. NBC Sports took over live weekend coverage in 1991 in South Carolina, and 1993 marked the first time a major U.S. network televised it live from Europe.

Format The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format in 1989 was as follows: Day 1 (Friday) — 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches in a morning session and 4 four-ball (better ball) matches in an afternoon session Day 2 (Saturday) — 4 foursome matches in a morning session and 4 four-ball matches in an afternoon session Day 3 (Sunday) — 12 singles matches With a total of 28 points, 14 points were required to win the Cup, and 14 points were required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.

Teams The selection process for the European team remained the same as used in 1985 and 1987, with nine players chosen from the 1989 European Tour money list at the conclusion of the German Open on 27 August and the remaining three team members being chosen immediately afterwards by the team captain, Tony Jacklin. Prior to the final event Philip Walton was in the 9th qualifying place with Cañizares in 10th. Cañizares finished joint fifth in the German Open and took the final qualifying place with Walton dropping to 11th place behind Bernhard Langer who finished in 10th. Jacklin's choices were Langer, Christy O'Connor Jnr and Howard Clark. 1988 Masters winner Sandy Lyle had previously told Jacklin that he did not wish to be considered for selection."Lyle turns down Ryder Cup place after loss of form". The Times, 28 August 1989; p. 16; Issue 63484.

 Team EuropeNameAgePointsrankWorldrankingPreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentage Tony Jacklin 45 Non-playing captain Ronan Rafferty 25 1 26 0 Rookie Mark James 35 2 35 3 10 2–7–1 25.00 José María Olazábal 23 3 9 1 5 3–2–0 60.00 Nick Faldo 32 4 3 6 22 14–7–1 65.91 Ian Woosnam 31 5 6 3 12 5–5–2 50.00 Gordon Brand Jnr 31 6 47 1 4 1–2–1 37.50 Seve Ballesteros 32 7 2 4 20 10–7–3 57.50 Sam Torrance 36 8 48 4 15 3–8–4 33.33 José María Cañizares 42 9 59 3 9 4–3–2 55.56 Bernhard Langer 32 10 18 4 19 10–5–4 63.16 Christy O'Connor Jnr 41 12 71 1 2 0–2–0 0.00 Howard Clark 35 64 4 9 4–4–1 50.00

Captains picks are shown in yellow. The world rankings and records are at the start of the 1989 Ryder Cup.

 Team USANameAgePointsrankWorldrankingPreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentageRaymond Floyd 47 Non-playing captainMark Calcavecchia 29 1 5 1 2 1–1–0 50.00Curtis Strange 34 2 4 3 12 5–6–1 45.83Chip Beck 33 3 10 0 RookiePayne Stewart 32 4 7 1 4 2–2–0 50.00Tom Kite 39 5 8 5 20 11–6–3 62.50Paul Azinger 29 6 13 0 RookieFred Couples 29 7 15 0 RookieKen Green 31 8 24 0 RookieMark O'Meara 32 9 22 1 3 1–2–0 33.33Mark McCumber 38 10 17 0 RookieTom Watson 40 19 3 12 9–3–0 75.00Lanny Wadkins 39 28 5 21 13–7–1 64.29

Captains picks are shown in yellow. The world rankings and records are at the start of the 1989 Ryder Cup.

Friday's matches Morning foursomes Results Faldo/WoosnamhalvedKite/StrangeClark/James 1 upWadkins/StewartBallesteros/OlazábalhalvedWatson/BeckLanger/Rafferty 2 & 1Calcavecchia/Green 1 Session 3 1 Overall 3

Afternoon four-ball Results Torrance/Brand 1 upStrange/AzingerClark/James 3 & 2Couples/WadkinsFaldo/Woosnam 2 upCalcavecchia/McCumberBallesteros/Olazábal 6 & 5Watson/O'Meara 4 Session 0 5 Overall 3

Saturday's matches Morning foursomes Results Woosnam/Faldo 3 & 2Wadkins/StewartBrand/Torrance 4 & 3Beck/AzingerO'Connor/Rafferty 3 & 2Calcavecchia/GreenBallesteros/Olazábal 1 upKite/Strange 2 Session 2 7 Overall 5

Afternoon four-ball Results Faldo/Woosnam 2 & 1Beck/AzingerLanger/Cañizares 2 & 1Kite/McCumberClark/James 1 upStewart/StrangeBallesteros/Olazábal 4 & 2Calcavecchia/Green 2 Session 2 9 Overall 7

Sunday's singles matches Results Seve Ballesteros 1 upPaul AzingerBernhard Langer 3 & 2Chip BeckJosé María Olazábal 1 upPayne StewartRonan Rafferty 1 upMark CalcavecchiaHoward Clark 8 & 7Tom KiteMark James 3 & 2Mark O'MearaChristy O'Connor Jnr 1 upFred CouplesJosé María Cañizares 1 upKen GreenGordon Brand Jnr 1 upMark McCumberSam Torrance 3 & 1Tom WatsonNick Faldo 1 upLanny WadkinsIan Woosnam 2 upCurtis Strange 5 Session 7 14 Overall 14

Individual player records Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.

Source:

Europe Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes FourballsSeve Ballesteros 3.5 3–1–1 0–1–0 1–0–1 2–0–0Gordon Brand Jnr 1 1–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0José María Cañizares 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–0–0 0–1–0Howard Clark 2 2–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 2–0–0Nick Faldo 2.5 2–2–1 0–1–0 1–0–1 1–1–0Mark James 3 3–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0 2–0–0Bernhard Langer 0 0–3–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Christy O'Connor Jnr 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0 0–0–0José María Olazábal 4.5 4–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–1 2–0–0Ronan Rafferty 1 1–2–0 1–0–0 0–2–0 0–0–0Sam Torrance 1 1–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0Ian Woosnam 2.5 2–2–1 0–1–0 1–0–1 1–1–0

United States Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes FourballsPaul Azinger 3 3–1–0 1–0–0 1–0–0 1–1–0Chip Beck 3.5 3–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–1 1–0–0Mark Calcavecchia 2 2–3–0 0–1–0 2–0–0 0–2–0Fred Couples 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0Ken Green 2 2–2–0 0–1–0 2–0–0 0–1–0Tom Kite 2.5 2–1–1 1–0–0 0–1–1 1–0–0Mark McCumber 2 2–1–0 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–1–0Mark O'Meara 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0Payne Stewart 1 1–3–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 0–1–0Curtis Strange 1.5 1–3–1 1–0–0 0–1–1 0–2–0Lanny Wadkins 2 2–2–0 1–0–0 1–1–0 0–1–0Tom Watson 1.5 1–1–1 1–0–0 0–0–1 0–1–0

References

External links PGA of America: 1989 Ryder Cup GolfCompendium.com: 1989 Ryder Cup