The 38th Ryder Cup was held 1–4 October 2010 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. It was the 17th time the Ryder Cup had been staged in Britain, but the first time in Wales. It was played on the newly constructed Twenty Ten course, specifically designed for the event.[1] The team captains were Colin Montgomerie for Europe and Corey Pavin for the United States.
With the U.S. as the defending champion, Europe won by a score of 141⁄2 to 131⁄2 and regained the Cup. It was Europe's sixth victory in the last eight contests and their fourth consecutive home win. The event was plagued by bad weather with play having to be suspended twice. Having taken a 3-point lead into the singles matches Europe faced a U.S. fightback and the conclusion of the Ryder Cup 2010 went right down to the anchor match between Graeme McDowell and Hunter Mahan. Eventually McDowell defeated Mahan 3 & 1 to regain the Cup for Europe.[2][3]
The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The original schedule in 2010 was:
Day 1 (Friday) – 4 four-ball (better ball) matches in a morning session and 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches in an afternoon session
Day 2 (Saturday) – 4 four-ball matches in a morning session and 4 foursome matches in an afternoon session
Day 3 (Sunday) – 12 singles matches
With a total of 28 points, 141⁄2 points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.
It was the second time in succession that the schedule for four-ball (better ball) and foursome (alternate shot) matches on Day One and Day Two has been changed, i.e. it was scheduled to be effectively the same timetable as was used in 2006.
Revised format
As a result of the long suspension of play on the first day due to heavy rain, the format for the rest of the competition was changed to try to bring a conclusion to the matches on Sunday. However, further heavy rain caused a delayed start on Sunday, so that the last of the revised sessions would be played on Monday. Because of the changes, there were a number of Ryder Cup firsts. For the first time in the history of the Ryder Cup, all 24 players took part in pairing sessions at the same time in six pairings (as opposed to the usual four pairings) and in another first for the event both foursome and four-ball matches were played in the same session at the same time. It is also the first time that the competition went into a fourth day. The revised schedule consisted of four sessions as opposed to the usual five.[5]
Session One (Friday and Saturday) – 4 four-ball (better ball) matches
Session Two (Saturday) – 6 foursome (alternate shot) matches
Session Three (Saturday and Sunday) – 2 foursome and 4 four-ball matches
Session Four (Monday) – 12 singles matches
The total number of each type of match remained the same, 8 four-ball, 8 foursomes, and 12 singles. By captains' agreement, matches would conclude at sundown Monday if not completed before then. Any matches still in progress would be considered halved at that point.[6]
Television
The matches were covered live domestically on Sky Sports with daily highlights shown on the BBC.
The five players, not qualified above, on the Ryder Cup European Points List[9]
Money earned in official European Tour events from 3 September 2009 to 29 August 2010
Three captain's picks
The captain's picks were named on 29 August.[10] In the previous the Ryder Cup had been two wildcard places on the European team, but on 12 May 2009 it was announced that this had been increased to three.[11]
There was much discussion about the qualification process after leading players based primarily in the United States, such as Paul Casey and Justin Rose, failed to make the team.[12][13] As a result, the priority of the European and World lists was switched for the 2012 Ryder Cup.
Players in qualifying places (Q) are shown in green; captain's picks (P) are shown in yellow; those in italics (q) qualified through the other points list.
The top eight players on the Ryder Cup Points List[18]
Points gained from money earned in majors in 2009 and official PGA tour events in 2010 up to 15 August (i.e. up to and including money earned at the 2010 PGA Championship). Money earned in 2010 majors counted double and money earned in 2010 events played opposite the majors or World Golf Championships counted half.
Four captain's picks
The team was finalised on 7 September when the four wildcards were announced.[19]
Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2010 Ryder Cup. Peter Hanson celebrated his 33rd birthday on the final day.
Four-balls play on Friday began on schedule but was suspended at 9:43 am BST due to poor course conditions because of rain. Play was resumed at 5:00 pm as the water had drained off the course but was suspended again for the day just after 7 pm BST. Play was completed Saturday morning.[24]
In order to fit the intended number of matches into a schedule that had been condensed due to the weather, three sessions of four matches each were converted into 2 sessions of 6 matches each, requiring all 24 players to play during Sessions 2 and 3.
Play began in the third session on late Saturday afternoon. Team Europe was leading all six matches when darkness halted play. Start of play on Sunday was delayed until 13:20, due to severe weather overnight leaving running water on the fairways again.[26]
Session 4 (Monday)
For the first time in Ryder Cup history, the final session was conducted on a Monday, due to torrential rain on the first day which delayed the schedule.[27]
A concert, dubbed 'Welcome to Wales', was held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 29 September 2010, two days prior to the beginning of the Ryder Cup. The event replaced a planned traditional gala dinner and was introduced by celebrities and golf stars. The concert featured musical performances by international superstars,[29] and was hosted by Steve Jones.[30]
