Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
There are a total of 28 points to play for in golf’s ultimate matchplay team event… and 28 points at stake here in Golf Today’s ultimate Ryder Cup Quiz. So, pencils at the ready – how much do you really know about golf’s biennial extravaganza?
Q1: One of the most endearing and romantic pieces of Ryder Cup trivia concerns the identity of the golfing figure that graces the diminutive seventeen-and-a-half inch solid gold trophy. In jaunty set-up, sporting plus fours and a flat cap, he’s a player of some note – but who is he?
(a) Bobby Jones
(b) Abe Mitchell
(c) Samuel Ryder
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q2: The brainchild of St Albans seed merchant Samuel Ryder, the first ‘official’ Ryder Cup was played at Worcester Country Club, Massachusetts. The GB&I team sailed the Atlantic aboard the RMS Aquitania and were greeted by US captain Walter Hagen before being whisked in limousines to a lavish reception in New York. But in which year did this all take place?
(a) 1927
(b) 1930
(c) 1931
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q3: In the late 1970s, Jack Nicklaus was prominent among those who canvassed for the expansion of the GB&I team to embrace the Continent of Europe in a bid to make the matches more competitive. The first European team was formed in 1979, under the captaincy of John Jacobs, and travelled to The Greenbrier, West Virginia. Included in that historic team were two Continentals – Seve Ballesteros was one, who was the other?
(a) Antonio Garrido
(b) Manuel Pinero
(c) Jose Rivero
Q4: Leading the team out at No.1 in the final day’s singles at Valderrama in 1997 – his last outing as a Ryder Cup player – Ian Woosnam was blown off the course as his opponent ripped the course apart to record a thumping 8&7 victory (matching the record set by Tom Kite in his match with Howard Clarke in 1987). Can you identify the unstoppable American?
(a) Fred Couples
(b) Tiger Woods
(c) Mark O’Meara
Q5: The American team assembled at Walton Heath in 1981, under the captaincy of the late, great Dave Marr, is widely acknowledged as the greatest in Ryder Cup history. Nicklaus, Miller, Watson, Trevino, Kite, Crenshaw, Floyd, et al – the team-sheet read like a Who’s Who of the game. Included in their number – and the only rookie on that record-making team – was the newly-crowned Open champion. Can you name him?
(a) Bruce Lietzke
(b) Tom Weiskopf
(c) Bill Rogers
Q6: The Ryder Cup has been played just twice in Scotland, most recently at Gleneagles, where in 2014 Europe enjoyed success under the meticulous captaincy of Ireland’s Paul McGinley. On the previous occasion, in 1973, Peter Butler holed a 3-iron at the par-three 16th to record the first hole-in-one in the matches’ history. Can you identify the venue?
(a) Muirfield
(b) Carnoustie
(c) Turnberry
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q7: During their singles match at Muirfield Village in 1987, Eamon Darcy’s opponent, in an uncharacteristic display of anger, had an argument with his putter and broke the offending club on the 6th green. He played the remaining holes putting with a 3-iron or the edge of his sand wedge – and holed a number of crucial putts to keep his match alive before succumbing on the 18th. Name the player.
(a) Paul Azinger
(b) Ray Floyd
(c) Ben Crenshaw
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q8: Sir Nick Faldo’s captaincy in 2008 was not without controversy, though no one could argue with his judgment when it came to naming Ian Poulter among his wild-card picks. After a relatively quiet debut in 2004, Poults gave notice of the passion the matches inspired in him, winning four points from five outings. Can you name Faldo’s other wild-card in ’08?
(a) Paul Casey
(b) Soren Hansen
(c) Luke Donald
Q9: Tiger Woods blazed onto the professional scene with his first major championship victory in 1997, his rookie season, and made his Ryder Cup debut later that year at Valderrama. But for all the hype surrounding golf’s latest wunderkind, the young American was taken down by a margin of 4&2 in the last-day singles. Name the European who claimed his scalp?
(a) Costantino Rocca
(b) Per-Ulrik Johansson
(c) Lee Westwood
Q10: There have been a total of six ‘aces’ in Ryder cup history – but this man has the enviable record of being the only player to have closed out his match with that fateful, glorious moment of perfection, achieved on the 14th hole at the K Club in 2006. Name the player.
(a) Howard Clark
(b) Nick Faldo
(c) Paul Casey
Q11: In 2002, the replay of the scheduled 2001 fixture after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, the match was poised at 8-8 after two days of remarkable golf. Step forward journeyman Phillip Price, who produced the performance of his life to help Europe edge Sunday’s singles and win the match by half a point. Which American superstar did the Welshman beat?
(a) Lanny Watkins
(b) Scott Hoch
(c) Phil Mickelson
Q12: In 2012, this European talisman birdied each of the five closing holes for an improbable Saturday afternoon Fourball victory in partnership with Rory McIlroy – and in the process reversed the momentum of the match to set up a momentous Sunday singles at Medinah.
(a) Justin Rose
(b) Ian Poulter
(c) Graeme McDowell
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q13: In 2004 at Oakland Hills the American captain took the decision to pair Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on the opening day – a strategy that backfired spectacularly, the two US stars barely on speaking terms as they suffered defeat in both the Foursome and Fourball matches (at the hands of Montgomerie and Harrington & Westwood and Clarke respectively).
Can you name the US captain.
(a) Brad Faxon
(b) Hal Sutton
(c) Larry Nelson
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q14: Who was the last playing captain in the Ryder Cup?
(a) Arnold Palmer
(b) Tony Jacklin
(c) Walter Hagen
Q15: At 51 years and 20 days, this American became the oldest player to compete in the Ryder Cup, a captain’s selection in 1993, fully 24 years after making his debut in 1969 (which is also a record). Can you name him?
(a) Lee Trevino
(b) Ray Floyd
(c) Lanny Watkins
Q16: On the subject of age…. this player became the youngest competitor in the Ryder Cup’s history, qualifying as of right in 1999 at the age of 19 years and 258 days. He was one of seven rookies on the team at Brookline, scene of the infamous 17th green invasion…
(a) Andrew Coltart
(b) Paul Laurie
(c) Sergio Garcia
Q17: The so-called ‘envelope’ rule came into operation in 1979, under which each captain places the name of the player he would nominate to sit out the singles in the event a player on the opposing side is injured – the ‘non-match’ being recorded as a half. At Kiawah Island in 1991, to add further controversy to golf’s ultimate needle match, the American Steve Pate suffered a rib injury in a car crash and was sidelined on the final day. Can you name the unfortunate European whose name was in captain Gallacher’s envelope?
(a) David Gilford
(b) Steven Richardson
(c) Peter Baker
Q18: In 2012, the’Miracle at Medinah’ saw Jose Maria Olazabal’s European team turn around a four-point deficit with a Sunday singles performance dedicated to the memory of Seve Ballesteros. Only three American players won their singles match – Dustin Johnson and Zach Johnson being two of them. Who was the third (beating Peter Hanson 2up)?
(a) Jason Dufner
(b) Matt Kuchar
(c) Jim Furyk
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q19: The European Tour’s Rookie of the Year in 1977, this young English player enjoyed a dream Ryder Cup debut at Royal Lytham in September that year, unbeaten in four outings, with a singles victory over the newly-crowned Open Champion Tom Watson the icing on the cake. Who is he?
(a) Ken Brown
(b) Nick Faldo
(c) Mark James
Q20: While he may not have won the major championship his talent so richly deserved, Colin Montgomerie is a true Ryder Cup legend, producing some of the finest golf ever witnessed in the biennial matches. The Scot won 20 of his 36 matches, and halved a further 7. Incredibly, Monty was unbeaten in his eight singles matches – including this 18th-hole victory over David Toms at Oakland Hills in 2004 that clinched the cup for Europe. Who was captain?
(a) Sam Torrance
(b) Bernhard Langer
(c) Bernard Gallacher
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q.21: Darren Clarke finally broke his singles drought in an emotionally charged 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club, just six weeks after his wife Heather lost her battle with cancer. Clarke had been one of captain Ian Woosnam’s controversial wild-cards (Lee Westwood being the other), but repaid the faith invested in him with three points from his three outings – including a 3&2 singles victory over which American player?
(a) Zach Johnson
(b) David Love III
(c) Tiger Woods
Q.22: How’s this for a Ryder Cup debut: paired alongside Lee Westwood for the Friday afternoon Fourballs of the 2012 matches at Medinah, this most flamboyant of Europeans produced eight birdies and an eagle on his own ball to destroy the pairing of Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker. Can you name him?
(a) Victor Dubuisson
(b) Nicolas Colsaerts
(c) Raffa Cabrera-Bello
Q.23: Can you name the first Irishman to captain a Ryder Cup team?
(a) Christy O’Connor
(b) Paul McGinley
(c) Fred Daly
Q.24: Brookline Country Club witnessed one of the most raucous of Ryder Cups in 1999 as Ben Crenshaw’s American side staged a monumental comeback to clinch the trophy by a single point. How many singles points did Team USA score on the final day (a total matched in 2012 by Europe in the Miracle of Medinah)
(a) 9
(b) 10
(c) 8.5
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q.25: David Love captained his American team to a convincing win at Hazeltine in 2016, the landslide 17-11 victory dedicated to Arnold Palmer, who died earlier in the week. The stand-out player for the US was Patrick Reed, with 3.5 points from four outings – but can you name the European rookie who enjoyed a record-breaking debut, with four points from five outings.
(a) Raffa Cabrera-Bello
(b) Thomas Pieters
(c) Matthew Fitzpatrick
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q.26: Rory McIlroy’s singles match in 2012 at Medinah was packed with drama before the Irishman made it to the 1st tee. Having confused time-zones in Chicago, McIlroy required a police escort to make it to the course with minutes to spare. Ultimately, and without hitting a practice shot, McIlroy soon got into his stride and emerged a 2&1 victor over which American player.
(a) Keegan Bradley
(b) Bubba Watson
(c) Webb Simpson
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q.27: In his two consecutive Ryder Cup appearances, the 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed has proved himself to be one of the toughest of matchplay competitors. In 2014 he beat Henrik Stenson 1up and in 2016, in one of the most thrilling singles matches in history, he edged out this European superstar by the same margin. Who is he?
(a) Justin Rose
(b) Rory McIlroy
(c) Sergio Garcia
Ryder Cup Killer Quiz
Q.28: The 2020 Ryder Cup will be staged at Whistling Straits in the US, returning to Continental Europe in 2022. Which country will play host to the 44th edition of the matches?
(a) Italy
(b) Sweden
(c) Germany
