1985 Ryder Cup

26th Ryder Cup Matches
Dates13–15 September 1985
VenueThe Belfry, Brabazon Course
LocationWishaw, Warwickshire, England
Captains
Europe 161⁄2 111⁄2 United States
Europe wins the Ryder Cup
← 1983
1987 →
The Belfry is located in England
The Belfry
The Belfry
class=notpageimage|
Location in England

The 26th Ryder Cup Matches were held 13–15 September 1985 at the Brabazon Course of The Belfry in Wishaw, Warwickshire, England. Team Europe won the competition for the first time by a score of 161⁄2 to 111⁄2 points. This marked the first U.S. loss since 1957, previously the sole U.S. loss in fifty years.

A key turning point in the matches came Saturday morning, when Craig Stadler missed a two-foot putt on the 18th hole, which would have earned a win for him and Curtis Strange over Europe's Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle. The match was halved, so instead of the U.S. being in the lead through three stages, the overall score was tied at 6-6. Europe went on to win three of the four Saturday afternoon matches. "In the past, it was always us who missed those putts," said European captain Tony Jacklin. "That has to crush them."[1]

Europe took that two-point lead into the Sunday singles and increased their lead throughout Sunday. It fell to Sam Torrance to secure the winning margin when he holed a 22-foot (7 m) putt on the 18th hole to defeat Andy North 1 up and go up 141⁄2 to 81⁄2, a six-point margin with five matches on the course.[2][3]

This was the last Ryder Cup played in Europe that was not shown on live television in the United States.[4] The USA Network first televised it in 1989 on cable with video provided by the BBC.[5][6] NBC Sports took over live weekend coverage in 1991 in South Carolina,[7] and 1993 marked the first time a major U.S. network televised it live from Europe.

  1. ^ MCDERMOTT, BARRY (23 September 1985). "The Empire Strikes Back". vault.si.com.
  2. ^ McDermott, Barry (23 September 1985). "The Empire Strikes Back". Sports Illustrated. p. 44.
  3. ^ "North falls as US loses Ryder Cup". Milwaukee Sentinel. wire services. 16 September 1985. p. 6, part 2.
  4. ^ "Ryder Cup matches scheduled for TV". Palm Beach Daily News. 3 October 1985. p. 7.
  5. ^ "Ryder Cup will be televised". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. 31 January 1989. p. 3C.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Modoono, Bill (21 September 1989). "Ryder Cup play creates fuzzy picture". Pittsburgh Press. p. C3.
  7. ^ Sandomir, Richard (26 September 1991). "U.S. losses put Ryder Cup golf back on network". Eugene Register-Guard. (New York Times). p. 8D.