The 43rd Ryder Cup Matches were held from September 24–26, 2021, on the Straits course at Whistling Straits, Haven, Wisconsin, US. Europe was the holder of the Ryder Cup after its win over the United States in 2018 at Le Golf National.
The United States, fielding its youngest team in its history, regained the Ryder Cup in 2021 with a record 19–9 victory. This was the largest margin of victory in a Ryder Cup since 1967. Continental Europe joined the Ryder Cup in 1979; this is Europe's heaviest defeat in Ryder Cup history. Combined with its 2016 win at Hazeltine, the United States won back-to-back Ryder Cups on home soil for the first time since 1979 and 1983.
Due to several tournaments, including a number of majors, shifting their schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic (including one major being canceled and one being moved to November), the Ryder Cup was originally scheduled to take place only five days after the final round of the rescheduled U.S. Open, from September 25 to 27, 2020.
On July 8, 2020, the PGA of America announced the postponement of the event to September 24 to 26, 2021, because of the pandemic. The next Ryder Cup was rescheduled to 2023 and further odd years, while the Presidents Cup was also rescheduled into 2022 and further even years, resetting the yearly rotation of both events to how they were scheduled before the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Format The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The event took place from September 24–26, 2021 at the Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The event was played over three days, with four foursomes (alternate shots) and four fourball matches on the first day. The second day followed with the same matches, and the third day had twelve singles matches. The event was played between teams of twelve representing the United States and Europe. As the hosting team, the United States captain determined which matches were played during the morning session, and which were played in the afternoon.
With a total of 28 points available, 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.
Team selection United States The United States qualification rules were announced on February 20, 2019. These were amended on August 5, 2020. The qualification rules are similar to those used for the 2018 Ryder Cup. The majority of the team are selected from the Ryder Cup points list, which is based on prize money won in important tournaments, with one point awarded for every $1,000 earned unless otherwise stated below. The team consists of:
The leading six players on the Ryder Cup points list gained in the following events: 2019 major championships, 1 point per $1,000 earned. 2019 World Golf Championship events and The Players Championship, 1 point per $2,000 earned. 2020 major championships (double points for the winner, 1.5 times points for those who make the cut). 2020 PGA Tour events. Qualifying events in this category are those played between January 1 and the conclusion of the Mayakoba Golf Classic on December 6, 2020 (previously August 23, 2020, the date of the BMW Championship). "Alternate" events (those played opposite a major or WGC event) do not earn points. 2021 PGA Tour events. Qualifying events in this category are those played between January 10 and the conclusion of the BMW Championship. "Alternate" events (those played opposite a major or WGC event) do not earn points. 2021 major championships (double points for the winner, 1.5 times points for those who make the cut). Six captain's picks Announced on September 8, 2021, three days after the conclusion of the Tour Championship
The leading 15 players in the final points list after the final qualifying event, the BMW Championship, were:
PositionNamePoints1Collin Morikawa (Q)18,883.822Dustin Johnson (Q)18,058.243Bryson DeChambeau (Q)17,367.914Brooks Koepka (Q)15,418.065Justin Thomas (Q)15,269.826Patrick Cantlay (Q)13,391.337Tony Finau (P)12,970.658Xander Schauffele (P)12,730.209Jordan Spieth (P)12,462.5110Harris English (P)11,605.3011Patrick Reed10,931.7012Daniel Berger (P)10,906.5713Webb Simpson9,833.8914Scottie Scheffler (P)9,295.8015Jason Kokrak8,345.03 Players in qualifying places (Q) are shown in green; captain's picks (P) are shown in yellow.
Europe The European team qualification rules were announced on May 8, 2019. There was one significant change from the previous Ryder Cup, with the number of captain's picks reduced from four to three. Following the postponement, points were frozen from after the Qatar Masters until January 1, 2021, with the new end date and amendments to the points multipliers expected to be announced before then. The team consisted of:
The leading four players on the Race to Dubai Points List Points earned in all Race to Dubai tournaments starting in September 2019 with the BMW PGA Championship and ending with the BMW PGA Championship in September 2020. Points earned in the later events of 2020 were multiplied by 1.5. The leading four members on The Ryder Cup European Points List on September 12, 2021 (or as at the conclusion of the BMW PGA Championship, whichever was the latter and so long as such tournament concluded no later than September 13, 2021). The leading five players, not qualified above, on the World Points List Total World Points earned in Official World Golf Ranking events starting in September 2019 with the BMW PGA Championship and ending with the BMW PGA Championship in September 2020. Points earned in the later events of 2020 were multiplied by 1.5. No World points were earned from tournaments staged opposite Rolex Series tournaments in both 2019 and 2020. The leading five members, not otherwise qualified above, on The Ryder Cup World Points List on Sunday, September 12, 2021 (or at the conclusion of the BMW PGA Championship, whichever was the latter and so long as such tournament concluded no later than September 13, 2021). Three captain's picks The captain, Padraig Harrington, chose the remaining three members on September 12, 2021.
The leading players in the final point lists were:
+European points listPositionNamePoints1Jon Rahm (Q)10,122.822Tommy Fleetwood (Q)6,487.923Tyrrell Hatton (Q)5,242.764Bernd Wiesberger (Q)4,918.195Matt Fitzpatrick (q)4,824.026Rory McIlroy (q)4,810.177Paul Casey (q)4,110.628Victor Perez4,022.639Robert MacIntyre3,696.9710Guido Migliozzi3,599.6211Thomas Detry3,201.5412Viktor Hovland (q)3,057.5213Richard Bland2,931.4114Justin Rose2,761.8715Shane Lowry (P)2,704.7516Matthias Schwab2,703.0317Lee Westwood (q)2,657.5718Danny Willett2,498.3919Sergio García (P)2,288.8920Rasmus Højgaard2,263.0621Calum Hill2,209.4922Nicolai Højgaard2,157.8023Ian Poulter (P)2,150.18
+World points listPositionNamePoints1Jon Rahm (q)853.902Rory McIlroy (Q)466.093Viktor Hovland (Q)367.534Paul Casey (Q)323.105Tyrrell Hatton (q)311.336Matt Fitzpatrick (Q)281.667Tommy Fleetwood (q)259.918Lee Westwood (Q)258.959Shane Lowry (P)239.4110Sergio García (P)206.6711Bernd Wiesberger (q)197.4612Victor Perez195.4113Robert MacIntyre186.4914Ian Poulter (P)181.4815Guido Migliozzi176.61
Players in qualifying places (Q) are shown in green; captain's picks (P) are shown in yellow; those in italics (q) qualified through the other points list.
Teams
Captains Both team captains were announced in early 2019; Pádraig Harrington was named as the European team captain on January 8, and Wisconsin native Steve Stricker as the U.S. team captain on February 20.
Vice-captains For the U.S. team, in October 2019, Stricker announced Jim Furyk as his first vice-captain. On May 11, 2020, Zach Johnson and Davis Love III were revealed as the next two vice-captains. On September 1, 2021, Stricker named his final two vice-captains, Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples.
For the European team, in September 2019, Harrington announced Robert Karlsson as his first vice-captain. In May 2020, he accidentally revealed Luke Donald as his second vice-captain during an interview. In June 2021, Harrington announced two more of his vice-captains, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell. On September 15, 2021, nine days ahead of the tournament, Henrik Stenson was named as the fifth and final European vice-captain.
Players United States teamNameAgePointsrankWorldrankingPreviousRyder CupsMatchesRecordWinpercentage 24 1 3 0 Rookie 37 2 2 4 16 43.75 28 3 7 1 3 0.00 31 4 10 2 8 56.25 28 5 6 1 5 80.00 29 6 4 0 Rookie (P) 32 7 9 1 3 66.67 (P) 27 8 5 0 Rookie (P) 28 9 13 3 14 57.14 (P) 32 10 11 0 Rookie (P) 28 12 16 0 Rookie (P) 25 14 21 0 Rookie The hosting United States team contained eight (of their twelve) players in the top 10 of the world rankings, while also containing eight players under the age of 30 and six rookies, the most in one team since 2008. Based on the Official World Golf Rankings prior to the event, ten of the U.S. players were ranked ahead of Europe's second-highest-ranked player (No. 14, Viktor Hovland).
Europe teamNameCountryAgePoints rank(European)Points rank(World)WorldrankingPreviousRyder CupsMatchesRecordWinpercentage 26 1 1 1 1 3 33.33 30 2 7 37 1 5 80.00 29 3 5 19 1 3 33.33 35 4 11 63 0 Rookie 32 6 2 15 5 24 54.17 24 12 3 14 0 Rookie 44 7 4 24 4 12 54.17 27 5 6 27 1 2 0.00 48 17 8 35 10 44 52.27 (P) 34 15 9 41 0 Rookie (P) 41 19 10 43 9 41 62.20 (P) 45 23 14 50 6 22 68.18 Captain's picks (P) are shown in yellow. World rankings and match records are prior to the start of the 2021 Ryder Cup.
Viktor Hovland (Norway) and Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) were the first players from their countries to qualify for a Ryder Cup team. Lee Westwood was the oldest player to represent the European team since Christy O'Connor Snr in 1973.
Course
HoleNameYardsMetresPar HoleNameYardsMetresPar1Outward Bound3643334 10Voyageur36133042Cross Country593542511Sand Box51947543O' Man181166312Pop Up14313134Glory489447413Cliff Hanger40436945Snake603551514Widow's Watch39636246Gremlin's Ear355325415Grand Strand51847447Shipwreck221202316Endless Bite55250558On the Rocks507464417Pinched Nerve22320439Down and Dirty446408418Dyeabolical5154714Out3,7593,43836In3,6313,32135Source: Total 7,390 6,75971
The 11th hole was converted to a par-4 for this Ryder Cup.
Event summary Friday's matches The opening round of four foursomes matches started at 7:05 am local time. Pairings were announced at the Opening Ceremony on Thursday. The first point was won by Europe, with Jon Rahm and Sergio García winning, 3 and 1, against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. The first point for the United States was won by Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa winning, 3 and 2, against Paul Casey and Viktor Hovland. After winning the first five holes, the second American point was won by Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele by winning 5 and 3, over Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter. The final point of the session, third overall for the United States to take a 3–1 lead was won by Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger winning, 2 and 1, against Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Results Rahm/García 3 & 1 Thomas/Spieth Casey/Hovland 3 & 2 Johnson/Morikawa Westwood/Fitzpatrick 2 & 1 Koepka/Berger McIlroy/Poulter 5 & 3 Cantlay/Schauffele 1 Session 3 1 Overall 3