The PGA Cup is a men's golf competition for club professionals played between a Great Britain and Ireland team and a United States team. The winning team is presented with the Llandudno Trophy. The competition is run by the British PGA and the PGA of America. It was first played in 1973 and was an annual event until 1984, after which it became biennial.
History The first two contests, at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, in 1973 and 1974, were contested for the Diamondhead Cup. Diamondhead Corp. was the owner of Pinehurst and sponsored the event. From 1975, the event was organised by the two PGAs and became known as the PGA Cup.
In 1990 the event was opened up to the golfers from continental Europe but from 1996 the British PGA team was again restricted to players from Great Britain and Ireland.
The 2017 PGA Cup was held on the Longcross course at Foxhills Golf Club, Ottershaw, Surrey, from 15 to 17 September and was won by Great Britain and Ireland by a score of 16 to 10, their second successive victory.
The 2019 PGA Cup was held on the Fazio Foothills course at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa, Austin, Texas, from 27 to 29 September and was won by the United States by a score of 14 to 12, their first outright victory since 2011.
The 2022 event, the 30th contest, was held at the Foxhills Golf Club in Surrey, England, the second time that the course had been chosen to host the event. The United States won by five points, to retain the trophy they won in 2019.
Trophy The trophy was first used for the Llandudno International Golf Trophy contested by the leading professionals from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The first tournament was held in September 1938 and Llandudno council presented a silver trophy to the P.G.A. for the winning team. Percy Alliss, the captain of the winning English team, took possession of the trophy. It was intended that the tournament would be the first of a series of matches but the Second World War interrupted these plans and the contests were not restarted after the war. During Alliss's later years, the trophy was returned to the P.G.A. and was then used as the trophy for the PGA Cup.
Format The event is contested by teams of ten players over three days, with four foursomes and four fourball matches on each of the first two days, and ten singles matches on the final day. All matches are over 18 holes.
The format of the PGA Cup has changed over the years. In 1973 and 1974 it was a two-day competition but in 1975 the event was expanded to three days. In the initial format only 8 of the 9 players contested the singles but from 1977 the whole team play in this session. From 1980 both foursomes and fourballs have been played on the first two days. The team size was increased from 9 to 10 in 1988 and the format has been unchanged since then, the only variation being the order of the foursomes and fourballs on the first two days.
Year Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 TotalPoints Morning Afternoon Morning Afternoon Morning Afternoon 1973–74 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 8 singles – 16 1975–76 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 8 singles 16 1977–79 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 9 singles 17 1980 3 fourballs 3 foursomes 3 fourballs 3 foursomes 9 singles 21 1981–84 3 foursomes 3 fourballs 3 fourballs 3 foursomes 9 singles 21 1986 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 9 singles 25 1988–2005 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 10 singles 26 2007–date 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 10 singles 26 or or 4 fourballs 4 foursomes 4 fourballs 4 foursomes
Results Year Winners Score Hostcountry Venue USAcaptain GB&Icaptain RefPGA Cup2026 GB&I 19–9 Ireland K Club Ben Polland David Scott 2024 USA 17–8 USA Sunriver Resort, Oregon Jim Richerson Tim Rouse 2022 USA 15–10 England Foxhills Club & Resort Suzy Whaley David J. Russell 2019 USA 14–12 USA Barton Creek Resort, Texas Derek Sprague Cameron Clark 2017 GB&I 16–10 England Foxhills Club & Resort Paul K. Levy Albert MacKenzie 2015 GB&I 13–12 USA CordeValle, California Allen Wronowski Jon Bevan 2013 Tied 13–13 England Slaley Hall Allen Wronowski Russell Weir 2011 USA 17–8 USA CordeValle, California Jim Remy Russell Weir 2009 USA 17–8 Scotland The Carrick on Loch Lomond Brian Whitcomb Gary Alliss 2007 USA 13–12 USA Reynolds Plantation, Georgia Roger Warren Gary Alliss 2005 GB&I 15–11 Ireland K Club M.G. Orender Jim Farmer 2003 USA 19–7 USA PGA Golf Club, Port St Lucie, Florida Jack Connellyand Will Mann David Jones 2000 USA 13–12 Wales Celtic Manor Ken Lindsay David Llewellyn 1998 USA 17–9 USA Broadmoor Resort, Colorado Tom Addis III Craig Defoy 1996 Tied 13–13 Scotland Gleneagles Gary Schaal Craig Defoy 1994 USA 15–11 USA PGA National, Florida Dick Smith Mike Ingham 1992 USA 15–11 Ireland K Club Patrick J. Rielly Paul Leonard 1990 USA 19–7 USA Turtle Point GC, South Carolina James Ray Carpenter Richard Bradbeer 1988 USA 15–10 England The Belfry Mickey Powell David Huish 1986 USA 16–9 USA Knollwood, Illinois Mark Kizziar Derek Nash 1984 GB&I 12–8 Scotland Turnberry Joe Black Keith Hockey 1983 GB&I 14–6 Scotland Muirfield Joe Black Keith Hockey 1982 USA 13–7 USA Holston Hills, Tennessee Don Padgett David Jones 1981 Tied 10–10 USA Turnberry Isle, Florida Joe Black Doug Smith 1980 USA 15–6 USA Oak Tree, Oklahoma Don Padgett David Talbot 1979 GB&I 12–4 Isle of Man Castletown Don Padgett Bill Watson 1978 GB&I 10–6 England St Mellion Henry Poe Tommy Horton 1977 Tied 8–8 USA Mission Hills, California Henry Poe Jack Hargreaves 1976 USA 9–6 England Moortown Frank Cardi George Will 1975 USA 9–6 England Hillside Don Padgett Christy O'Connor Snr Diamondhead Cup1974 USA 11–4 USA Pinehurst, North Carolina Henry Poe Bryon Hutchinson 1973 USA 13–3 USA Pinehurst, North Carolina William Clarke Tom Haliburton United States have won 20 times, Great Britain & Ireland 8 times with 4 ties.
Appearances The following are those who have played in at least one of the matches.
United States
Rick Acton 1986, 1994 Jim Albus 1977, 1981, 1982 Ken Allard 1986 J. C. Anderson 2013 Perry Arthur 1996 Tommy Aycock 1978, 1979, 1980 Danny Balin 2011, 2019 Dave Barber 1978, 1980 Jerry Barber 1974 Rex Baxter 1974, 1976 Alex Beach 2019, 2022 George Bellino 1977 Frank Bensel Jr. 2022 Bob Benson 1975 Steve Benson 1978, 1981 Ryan Benzel 2007, 2009 Rich Berberian, Jr. 2017, 2019 Brian Bergstol 2026 Don Berry 2003 Scott Bess 1986, 1988 Brandon Bingaman 2026 Michael Block 2015, 2022, 2024 Gene Borek 1973, 1976, 1981, 1983 Bob Borowicz 1992 George Bowman 1994 Bob Boyd 1990, 2000 Stan Brion 1974 Jamie Broce 2015, 2017 Mark Brown 2000, 2017 Bob Bruno 1973, 1979 Mike Burke Jr. 1998 Kevin Burton 2000 Matt Cahill 2024 Doug Campbell 1980 Jason Caron 2019 Walt Chapman 1994 Paul Claxton 2017 Tom Cleaver 1994 Tyler Collet 2024, 2026 Tim Collins 1977, 1978, 1979, 1984 Ben Cook 2019 Richard Crawford 1982 Stuart Deane 2015 John DeForest 1996 Wayne DeFrancesco 2003 Frank Dobbs 2000 Matt Dobyns 2013, 2015, 2017 Sean Dougherty 2015 Jesse Droemer 2026 Bob Duden 1977 Tim Dunlavey 2000 John Elliott, Jr. 1984 Charlie Epps 1986 Scott Erdmann 2011 Barry Evans 2003 Eddie Famula 1975 Jim Ferree 1979 Jim Ferriell 1977 Gene Fieger 1992, 1998 Bruce Fleisher 1990 Kyle Flinton 2009 Terry Florence 1980, 1984 Bob Ford 1981, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2005 Jeff Freeman 2000 Ray Freeman 1986, 1990 Dale Fuller 1990 Brian Gaffney 2000 Mal Galletta 1973 Bob Galloway 1977 Bob Gaus 1998 John Gentile 1979 Ernie George 1973 Gibby Gilbert 1988 Larry Gilbert 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1992 Mike Gill 2000 Mike Gilmore 2003 David Glenz 1984, 1988 Randy Glover 1975, 1976, 1980 Larkin Gross 2022 Laurie Hammer 1978 Phil Hancock 1990 Zach Haynes 2026 Scott Hebert 2009 Austin Hurt 2026 Denis Husse 1983 David Hutsell 2011 Stu Ingraham 1990, 1996 Bill Israelson 1996 John Jackson 1981, 1982 Tommy Jacobs 1974 Faber Jamerson 2011 Marty Jertson 2011, 2019 David Jimenez 1976 Chip Johnson 2005 Jared Jones 2022, 2024 Michael Kartude 2026 Shawn Kelly 2000 Roger Kennedy 1980, 1981 Ben Kern 2019, 2026 Darrell Kestner 1998 Jim King 1983 Rob Labritz 2003 George Lanning 1977 Jeff Lankford 1998 Brad Lardon 2011 John Lee 1994 Ryan Lenahan 2026 Bob Lendzion 1983, 1988 Ron Letellier 1975 J. L. Lewis 1994 Jack Lewis Jr. 1980 Babe Lichardus 1973, 1975 Eric Lippert 2009 Jim Logue 1974, 1982, 1983 Travis Long 2005 Jay Lumpkin 1988 Denny Lyons 1973, 1974 Larry Mancour 1974 Brad Marek 2024 Don Massengale 1973, 1982 O'Dell Massey 1975 Rives McBee 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978 Sean McCarty 2019 Rob McClellan 2011 Ron McDougal 1992, 1994, 1998 Dave McNabb 2017 Brett Melton 2005 Bob Menne 1988 Mark Mielke 1998 Kelly Mitchum 2013 John Molenda 1974 Alan Morin 2003, 2015 Kevin Morris 1983, 1986 Jesse Mueller 2022, 2024 Dan Murphy 1984 Lonnie Nielsen 1988, 1996 Pete Oakley 1994 Jay Overton 1979, 1998 Don Padgett II 1976, 1981, 1982, 1984 Rod Perry 2013, 2017 Ron Philo, Jr. 2005, 2007 Ben Polland 2015, 2022, 2024 Ryan Polzin 2013 Art Proctor 1978 Sammy Rachels 1990, 1996 Adam Rainaud 2017 Lee Rinker 1992, 2007, 2009 Tom Robertson 1983 Gary Robinson 1982 Jeff Roth 1988, 1994, 1996 Mike San Filippo 1992 Garrett Sapp 2026 Steve Schneiter 1996, 2009 Mike Schuchart 1992 Alan Schulte 2007 Bill Schumaker 1986 Jack Seltzer 1983 Craig Shankland 1973 Butch Sheehan 2007 Mark Sheftic 2009, 2011, 2013 Jerry Shortridge 1979, 1980 Sonny Skinner 2009, 2011 Mike Small 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 Ron Smith 1978 Todd Smith 1994 John Somers 2024 Jack Sommers 1979 Jeff Sorenson 2013 Bob Sowards 2005, 2013, 2015, 2019 Scott Spence 2005 Josh Speight 2017 Chris Starkjohann 2007 Craig Stevens 2003 Rich Steinmetz 2005 Wheeler Stewart 1986 Grant Sturgeon 2015 Chip Sullivan 2007, 2013 Bruce Summerhays 1977, 1978 Andrew Svoboda 2024 Tim Thelen 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007 Craig Thomas 2009 Kim Thompson 1990 Jeff Thomsen 1990 David Thore 1988 Dennis Tiziani 1976 John Traub 1981 Chris Tucker 1998 Brett Upper 1992 Omar Uresti 2015, 2017, 2022 Maurice Ver Brugge 1975 Steve Veriato 1992 Ryan Vermeer 2019, 2022 Robby Ware 1996 Tom Wargo 1988, 1992 Roger Watson 1975, 1976 Larry Webb 1984 Tim Weinhart 2003 Jeremy Wells 2024 Jim White 1986 Buddy Whitten 1980 Wyatt Worthington II 2022 Jimmy Wright 1975, 1979, 1982 Bob Wynn 1984 Don Yrene 2007 Bruce Zabriski 1998, 2003
Source:
Great Britain and Ireland Initially the team was based entirely on the PGA Club Professionals' Championship. The leading nine available players in that event qualified, there being a sudden-death playoff when there was tie for 9th place. In 1973 Adrian Sadler tied for third place but later withdrew and was replaced by Bryon Hutchinson, who had earlier lost a playoff for the final place. In 1974 Ken Redford finished in a qualifying position but had decided not to travel. In 1979 George Will qualified after finishing tied for 3rd position but later withdrew and was replaced by Jim Farmer. In 1980 Brian Waites, who finished third, had previously announced that we would not play in the PGA Cup. There was a three-way tie for 10th place. George Will declined to play in it and Leonard Owens gained the final place by beating Peter Tupling in a playoff. The system remained the same in 1986, even though the event had become biennial.