The 27th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 25–27, 1987 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. The European team won their second consecutive competition by a score of 15 to 13 points in probably the most historic Ryder Cup. After an unbeaten record of 13–0 spanning sixty years, the U.S. team lost for the first time on home soil.[1][2]
| Dates | September 25–27, 1987 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Muirfield Village Golf Club | ||||
| Location | Dublin, Ohio | ||||
| Captains |
| ||||
| |||||
| Europe wins the Ryder Cup | |||||
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Europe took a lead of 5 points into the Sunday singles matches, but the U.S. fought back strongly to narrow the deficit. Eamonn Darcy, who previously had a very poor Ryder Cup record, defeated Ben Crenshaw at the last hole to get Europe to 13 points. Crenshaw had broken his putter in a moment of frustration after the sixth hole and putted with his 1 iron for the last dozen holes. Bernhard Langer then halved his match with Larry Nelson and when Seve Ballesteros defeated Curtis Strange 2 & 1 to total 141⁄2 points, the European victory was secured.[1][2][3]
This was the last Ryder Cup in which the U.S. team did not employ captain's selections.[4] Europe used captain's picks in 1979, 1981, 1985, and this year.[5]
Muirfield Village, founded and designed by U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus, has hosted the Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour since 1976. The 2013 Presidents Cup was held at the same course.
Format edit
The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format in 1987 adjusted slightly from the previous three events, with the order of play on the second day swapped:
- Day 1 (Friday) — 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches in a morning session and 4 four-ball (better ball) matches in an afternoon session
- Day 2 (Saturday) — 4 foursome matches in a morning session and 4 four-ball matches in an afternoon session
- Day 3 (Sunday) — 12 singles matches
With a total of 28 points, 141⁄2 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.
Teams edit
 Team USA
| |||||||
| Name | Age | Points rank |
World ranking |
Previous Ryder Cups |
Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Nicklaus | 47 | Non-playing captain | |||||
| Scott Simpson | 32 | – | 13 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Larry Nelson | 40 | – | 28 | 2 | 9 | 9–0–0 | 100.00 |
| Payne Stewart | 30 | 1 | 5 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Ben Crenshaw | 35 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3–2–1 | 58.33 |
| Curtis Strange | 32 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3–3–1 | 50.00 |
| Hal Sutton | 29 | 4 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 1–2–1 | 37.50 |
| Larry Mize | 29 | 5 | 15 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Lanny Wadkins | 37 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 12–4–1 | 73.53 |
| Dan Pohl | 32 | 7 | 25 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Tom Kite | 37 | 8 | 17 | 4 | 15 | 8–4–3 | 63.33 |
| Mark Calcavecchia | 27 | 9 | 32 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Andy Bean | 34 | 10 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 2–1–0 | 66.67 |
Simpson qualified by virtue of winning the 1987 U.S. Open, while Nelson qualified by winning the 1987 PGA Championship.
The selection process for the European team remained unchanged from 1985, with nine players chosen from the 1987 European Tour money list at the conclusion of the German Open on August 30 and the remaining three team members being chosen immediately afterwards by the team captain, Tony Jacklin.[6] Prior to the final event Eamonn Darcy was in the 9th qualifying place with Mats Lanner in 10th. Lanner finished just one shot ahead of Darcy in the German Open and Darcy retained his qualifying place. Jacklin's choices were Ken Brown, Sandy Lyle and José María Olazábal.[7]
 Team Europe
| |||||||
| Name | Age | Points rank |
World ranking |
Previous Ryder Cups |
Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tony Jacklin
|
43 | Non-playing captain | |||||
 Ian Woosnam
|
29 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 2–4–1 | 35.71 |
| Nick Faldo
|
30 | 2 | 20 | 5 | 17 | 11–6–0 | 64.71 |
| Howard Clark
|
33 | 3 | 42 | 3 | 7 | 3–3–1 | 50.00 |
 Seve Ballesteros
|
30 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 6–6–3 | 50.00 |
 Gordon Brand Jnr
|
29 | 5 | 40 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Sam Torrance
|
34 | 6 | 54 | 3 | 13 | 3–7–3 | 34.62 |
 Bernhard Langer
|
30 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 7–4–3 | 60.71 |
| José Rivero
|
32 | 8 | 68= | 1 | 2 | 1–1–0 | 50.00 |
 Eamonn Darcy
|
35 | 9 | 112 | 3 | 9 | 0–7–2 | 11.11 |
| José María Olazábal
|
21 | 11 | 43 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Sandy Lyle
|
29 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 4–8–2 | 35.71 | |
| Ken Brown
|
30 | 77= | 4 | 11 | 4–7–0 | 36.36 | |
Captains picks are shown in yellow.[4][5] The world rankings and records are at the start of the 1987 Ryder Cup.
Friday's matches edit
Morning foursomes edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Torrance/Clark |  4 & 2
|
Strange/Kite |
| Brown/Langer | 2 & 1
|
Sutton/Pohl |
| Faldo/Woosnam |  2 up
|
Wadkins/Mize |
| Ballesteros/Olazábal | 1 up
|
Nelson/Stewart |
| 2 | Session | 2 |
| 2 | Overall | 2 |
Afternoon four-ball edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Brand/Rivero | 3 & 2
|
Crenshaw/Simpson |
| Lyle/Langer | 1 up
|
Bean/Calcavecchia |
| Faldo/Woosnam | 2 & 1
|
Sutton/Pohl |
| Ballesteros/Olazábal | 2 & 1
|
Strange/Kite |
| 4 | Session | 0 |
| 6 | Overall | 2 |
Saturday's matches edit
Morning foursomes edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Rivero/Brand | 3 & 1
|
Strange/Kite |
| Faldo/Woosnam | halved | Sutton/Mize |
| Lyle/Langer | 2 & 1
|
Wadkins/Nelson |
| Ballesteros/Olazábal | 1 up
|
Crenshaw/Stewart |
| 21⁄2 | Session | 11⁄2 |
| 81⁄2 | Overall | 31⁄2 |
Afternoon four-ball edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Faldo/Woosnam | 5 & 4
|
Strange/Kite |
| Darcy/Brand | 3 & 2
|
Bean/Stewart |
| Ballesteros/Olazábal | 2 & 1
|
Sutton/Mize |
| Lyle/Langer | 1 up
|
Wadkins/Nelson |
| 2 | Session | 2 |
| 101⁄2 | Overall | 51⁄2 |
Sunday's singles matches edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Ian Woosnam | 1 up
|
Andy Bean |
| Howard Clark | 1 up
|
Dan Pohl |
| Sam Torrance | halved | Larry Mize |
| Nick Faldo | 1 up
|
Mark Calcavecchia |
| José María Olazábal | 2 up
|
Payne Stewart |
| José Rivero | 2 & 1
|
Scott Simpson |
| Sandy Lyle | 3 & 2
|
Tom Kite |
| Eamonn Darcy | 1 up
|
Ben Crenshaw |
| Bernhard Langer | halved | Larry Nelson |
| Seve Ballesteros | 2 & 1
|
Curtis Strange |
| Ken Brown | 3 & 2
|
Lanny Wadkins |
| Gordon Brand Jnr | halved | Hal Sutton |
| 41⁄2 | Session | 71⁄2 |
| 15 | Overall | 13 |
Individual player records edit
Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.
Source: [8]
United States edit
| Player | Points | Overall | Singles | Foursomes | Fourballs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Bean | 2 | 2–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 1–1–0 |
| Mark Calcavecchia | 1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 0 | 0–3–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Tom Kite | 3 | 3–2–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–2–0 |
| Larry Mize | 2 | 1–1–2 | 0–0–1 | 0–1–1 | 1–0–0 |
| Larry Nelson | 0.5 | 0–3–1 | 0–0–1 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Dan Pohl | 1 | 1–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Scott Simpson | 1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Payne Stewart | 2 | 2–2–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–0–0 |
| Curtis Strange | 2 | 2–3–0 | 0–1–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–2–0 |
| Hal Sutton | 3 | 2–1–2 | 0–0–1 | 1–0–1 | 1–1–0 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 1 | 1–3–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 |
Europe edit
| Player | Points | Overall | Singles | Foursomes | Fourballs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seve Ballesteros | 4 | 4–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 1–1–0 |
| Gordon Brand Jnr | 1.5 | 1–2–1 | 0–0–1 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–0 |
| Ken Brown | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Howard Clark | 1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Eamonn Darcy | 1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Nick Faldo | 3.5 | 3–1–1 | 0–1–0 | 1–0–1 | 2–0–0 |
| Bernhard Langer | 3.5 | 3–1–1 | 0–0–1 | 1–1–0 | 2–0–0 |
| Sandy Lyle | 3 | 3–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–0–0 |
| José María Olazábal | 3 | 3–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 2–0–0 | 1–1–0 |
| José Rivero | 1 | 1–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 |
| Sam Torrance | 0.5 | 0–1–1 | 0–0–1 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Ian Woosnam | 3.5 | 3–1–1 | 0–1–0 | 1–0–1 | 2–0–0 |
References edit
- ^ a b Diaz, Jaime (October 5, 1987). "A Cup for the Old World". Sports Illustrated. p. 58.
- ^ a b "Europeans use crucial 18th hole to win Ryder Cup". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. September 28, 1987. p. 2C.
- ^ "Ryder Cup 1987". Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ a b "Ryder Cup squad set". Reading Eagle. wire services. August 10, 1987. p. 27.
- ^ a b Kelley, Brent. "Ryder Cup captain's picks and how they've fared". About.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- ^ "Back to the old Belfry spirit". The Times, November 28, 1986; pg. 36; Issue 62627.
- ^ "McNulty and Darcy's Rhapsody". The Times, August 31, 1987; pg. 28; Issue 62861.
- ^ "2014 Ryder Cup Media and Players' Guide". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
- "Ryder Cup 2006 » History » 1987 Results". The PGA of America, Ryder Cup Limited, and Turner Sports Interactive. Archived from the original on February 23, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
- "Ryder Cup – 1987". About:Golf. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
- "Ryder Cup history: 1987". BBC Sport. September 14, 2006. Retrieved March 14, 2007.