Ryder Cup success is so often shaped by what happens at home — the roaring crowds, familiar fairways, and the psychological edge of hosting. But it’s the victories achieved across the Atlantic, deep in hostile territory, that tend to leave the deepest mark.
This year, Luke Donald returns as captain with what many believe is one of Europe’s strongest-ever squads, aiming for a momentous victory on U.S. soil. History suggests an uphill task at Bethpage Black; Team Europe, amid all its recent success at home, has managed just four victories overseas against Team USA.
Each came with its own drama, its own heroes, and its own lasting impact.
1987 — Muirfield Village, Ohio
Team Europe broke their duck in the U.S. in 1987, with Seve Ballesteros starring at Muirfield Village. Simon Bruty/Getty Images
Heading into the 1987 Ryder Cup at Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village, few outside the European camp truly believed a road win was possible. The U.S. had an unbeaten home record of 13-0 spanning six decades and despite Europe’s breakthrough victory at The Belfry in 1985, many still saw the hosts as the dominant force. Muirfield — Nicklaus’ pride and joy — was supposed to underline that superiority.
But Tony Jacklin’s side had other ideas. Led by the fire and flair of Seve Ballesteros and the icy precision of Nick Faldo, Europe opened up a 6-2 lead on day one — winning all four afternoon fourball matches — and then built that lead to 10½-5½ after Saturday. They were on the brink of history.
The Sunday singles brought inevitable pressure and a spirited U.S. comeback, but the Europeans held firm. Eamonn Darcy’s win over Ben Crenshaw — whose snapped putter became a symbol of U.S. frustration (he putted with his 1 iron after the sixth hole) — was one of several gritty victories that sealed the 15-13 win. Fittingly, Ballesteros, who top-scored with four points, was the man with the clinching putt in a 2&1 victory over Curtis Strange.
Europe had proved they could travel, compete, and conquer.
1995 — Oak Hill Country Club, New York
Philip Walton sunk the winning putt for Europe in 1995 in Rochester. Jon Cuban /Allsport
By 1995, the Ryder Cup was no longer a one-sided American affair — but wins in the U.S. were still rare and revered.
Europe arrived in Rochester under the experienced eye of Bernard Gallacher, captaining the team for a third and final time after narrow defeats at Kiawah Island and The Belfry. The opposition was inexperienced, but hungry. Up-and-coming rookies like Tom Lehmann and Phil Mickelson supplemented major winners Corey Pavin, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange and Fred Couples, while Europe had three of the current top-six golfers in the world — Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie — at their disposal.
But when the U.S. led 9-7 heading into the Sunday singles — which they had won in the last four Ryder Cups — few imagined they could be caught.
What followed was one of the Ryder Cup’s more clinical Sundays. The visitors claimed 7½ of the 12 singles points on offer to edge the contest 14½-13½. For all Europe’s starpower, it was unassuming Irish rookie Philip Walton who held his nerve to win 1-up against Jay Haas and secure the vital point.
The Europeans delivered when it mattered most.
2004 — Oakland Hills Country Club, Michigan
Europe dominated the U.S. in 2004 with a record-winning score. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
If there was ever a Ryder Cup where the final result never felt in doubt, it was Oakland Hills in 2004. From the opening session, Langer’s Europe looked sharper than their American counterparts. The 18½-9½ scoreline — a record at the time for a European team (they would repeat the result two years later) — barely told the full story of just how comprehensive this win was.
Europe dominated all but one session. The score was 6½-1½ by the end of Friday — when the much-heralded Mickelson-Tiger Woods partnership was beaten — and 11-5 after two days.
Faced with a mountain to climb, the U.S. only won four singles matches on Sunday. It was a pummelling.
Every single European player contributed to the scoreboard — a rare and powerful symbol of unity. Stars like Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood were outstanding, but it was the collective effort that overwhelmed the U.S. “The best team I’ve ever been part of,” Montgomerie would later say.
Oakland Hills didn’t just feel like a win — it felt like a statement.
2012 — Medinah Country Club, Illinois
Ian Poulter was a man possessed on the Saturday and led Europe back into contention, before a miraculous final day. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Few sporting comebacks rival what Europe pulled off at Medinah. Trailing 10-6 going into the final day — and facing a red-hot U.S. team playing in front of a roaring Chicago crowd — José María Olazábal’s side looked beaten. Cue a seismic shift.
The spark had come late Saturday, when Ian Poulter — a man possessed — birdied the final five holes in his fourball match with Rory McIlroy to give Europe a lifeline. Then on Sunday, European players — one by one — began flipping matches.
Donald set the tone. McIlroy arrived late but delivered. Justin Rose’s birdie-birdie finish — featuring a 40-footer on the 17th — to edge Mickelson was breathtaking. And Martin Kaymer, facing enormous pressure, sank a nerveless putt on 18 to retain the cup. When Woods missed a four-footer to halve the last match with Francesco Molinari, it was all over.
They won 8½ of the 12 singles points, stunning the U.S. and sealing a 14½-13½ win. Olazábal, captaining with Ballesteros’ silhouette embroidered on his chest, dedicated the win to his late friend, who had passed away a year prior. Emotion poured from every European player.
The Miracle of Medinah — the Ryder Cup’s greatest comebacks — was complete.
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