Ryder Cup Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named after the English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy. The event is jointly administered by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe, the latter a joint venture of the PGA European Tour (60%), the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (20%), and the PGAs of Europe (20%). Originally contested between Great Britain and the United
Ryder Cup display boards at The Belfry still read "The 2001 Ryder Cup", and U.S. captain Curtis Strange deliberately referred to his team as "The 2001 Ryder Cup Team" in his speech at the closing ceremony. It was later decided to hold the subsequent Ryder Cup in 2004 (rather than 2003) and thereafter in even-numbered years. This change also affected the men's Presidents Cup and Seve Trophy and women's Solheim Cup competitions, as each switched from even to odd years. Although the team was referred to as "Great Britain" up to 1971, a number of golfers from the Republic of Ireland, Northern