How well do you know the Ryder Cup? Try this quiz:
FRIDAY FOURSOMES
1. Where did the Ryder Cup get its name?
a. An English seed merchant
b. An American rental truck company
c. Golf writer Bernard Darwin
---
2. Who was the oldest captain in Ryder Cup history?
a. Old Tom Morris
b. Tom Watson
c. Ken Venturi
---
3. Who was the only player to defeat Tiger Woods in singles?
a. Francesco Molinari
b. Costantino Rocca
c. Jesper Parnevik
---
4. Who was the oldest player to be a captain's pick?
a. Fred Funk
b. Christy O'Connor Sr.
c. Raymond Floyd
---
FRIDAY FOURBALLS
5. Who was the last Ryder Cup rookie to play at least three matches and win them all?
a. Jose Maria Olazabal
b. Ian Poulter
c. Phil Mickelson
---
6. What is the only American partnership that won all four of their matches?
a. Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker
b. Larry Nelson and Lanny Wadkins
c. Arnold Palmer and Gardner Dickinson
---
7. Vice captains did not start until 1999. What were they called before that?
a. Cart drivers
b. Backseat drivers
c. Partial helpers
---
8. Who is the only player to end his match with a hole-in-one?
a. Paul Casey
b. Scott Verplank
c. Howard Clark
---
SATURDAY FOURSOMES
9. Which was the most prolific partnership in Ryder Cup history?
a. Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson
b. Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal
c. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson
---
10. Where was the first Ryder Cup played?
a. Valhalla Golf Club
b. Worcester Country Club
c. Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club
---
11. Which European once went 12 consecutive matches without losing?
a. Lee Westwood
b. Jose Maria Olazabal
c. Ian Poulter
---
12. Who played in at least five Ryder Cups without ever losing a singles match?
a. Fred Couples
b. Colin Montgomerie
c. Luke Donald
---
SATURDAY FOURBALLS
13. Who birdied his last five holes in fourballs for a momentum-shifting victory?
a. Jack Nicklaus
b. Chris DiMarco
c. Ian Poulter
---
14. What significant change in the Ryder Cup occurred in 1979?
a. Players from continental Europe were eligible.
b. Captains could no longer play.
c. The Ryder Cup turned its first profit.
---
15. Who was the last player to win all five of his matches in a Ryder Cup?
a. Ian Poulter
b. Larry Nelson
c. Sergio Garcia
---
16. Which American has the most losses in Ryder Cup history?
a. Tiger Woods
b. Phil Mickelson
c. Jim Furyk
---
SUNDAY SINGLES
17. Who made a 45-foot putt that rallied the Americans to victory from a 10-6 deficit?
a. Justin Leonard
b. Davis Love III
c. Fred Couples
---
18. Who has won the most points in the Ryder Cup?
a. Nick Faldo
b. Bernhard Langer
c. Gardner Dickinson
---
19. Who was the last playing captain in the Ryder Cup?
a. Arnold Palmer
b. Tony Jacklin
c. Walter Hagen
---
20. Europe won the Ryder Cup on U.S. soil for the first time on what golf course?
a. Portland Golf Club
b. Muirfield Village
c. PGA National
---
21. The U.S. won at Kiawah Island in 1991 when Bernhard Langer missed a 6-foot putt. Who was his opponent?
a. Dave Stockton
b. Mark Calcavecchia
c. Hale Irwin
---
22. Who is the only player to play five matches that all went 18 holes?
a. Curtis Strange
b. Ben Crenshaw
c. Neil Coles
---
23. How many majors did Jack Nicklaus win before playing in his first Ryder Cup?
a. One
b. Three
c. Seven
---
24. Who is the only Ryder Cup rookie to be a captain's pick without ever winning a professional tournament?
a. Oliver Wilson
b. Rickie Fowler
c. Jeff Overton
---
25. In the last 50 years, who is the only two-time major champion to not play in the Ryder Cup?
a. John Daly
b. Lee Janzen
c. Julius Boros
---
26. The Ryder Cup was not played on consecutive days in 1951 at Pinehurst. Why was no golf played on Saturday?
a. Overnight storms toppled all the corporate hospital tents.
b. There was a hurricane warning.
c. Both teams attended a college football game.
---
27. Which player broke his putter in anger and had to use a sand wedge the rest of his match?
a. Ben Crenshaw
b. Tiger Woods
c. Thomas Bjorn
---
28. What is considered the greatest act of sportsmanship in the Ryder Cup?
a. Tom Watson sitting out Phil Mickelson in both Saturday matches at Gleneagles.
b. The PGA of America agreeing to give some of their proceeds to the players to donate to charity.
c. Jack Nicklaus conceding a short par putt to Tony Jacklin so the 1969 matches would end in a tie.
---
ANSWERS
1. a
2. b
3. b
4. c
5. c
6. b
7. c
8. a
9. b
10. b
11. a
12. b
13. c
14. a
15. b
16. c
17. a
18. a
19. a
20. b
21. c
22. a
23. c
24. b
25. a
26. c
27. a
28. c
