Team Golf

"There is nothing like winning the Ryder Cup, because you are playing for something besides yourself." – Tom Watson

Although golf is traditionally an individual sport, some of its most prestigious events are contested in teams, such as the biennial Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, and Presidents Cup competitions. The Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup are fought between Europe and the United States, while the Presidents Cup sees the US take on a rest-of-the-world team not including Europe.

The camaraderie and team spirit confer these events a unique atmosphere in golf, while the passion on display is unrivalled in the sport.

📜 Team Golf History

The Ryder Cup was golf’s first major professional team event with the inaugural edition held in 1927, although the Walker Cup – an amateur contest between the United States and Great Britain and Ireland – preceded it by 5 years.

Due to American dominance in the competition, the Ryder Cup was expanded to include all of Europe, rather than simply Great Britain and Ireland, in 1979.

A women’s equivalent, the Solheim Cup, followed in 1990, while a non-European male counterpart, the Presidents Cup, came hot on its heels in 1994.

In recent years, team events such as the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and International Crown have proved popular on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, respectively. Golf’s latest major tour, LIV Golf, features ongoing team events over the course of the season.

💯 Team Golf Format & Scoring

Being team events, these competitions usually adopt a different format to standard individual events. Team golf events are typically comprised of four-balls, foursomes, and singles matches. Four-balls and foursomes matches are both contested by 2 teams of 2. In the former, each hole is won by the team whose member scored lowest, while in the latter, the teams use 1 ball each and take alternating shots. Singles matches adopt the match play format, in which 1 player from each team goes head-to-head and each hole is won by the player with the lowest score. In each case, the winner of each match is determined by the player or pairing who won the most holes.