* 2010 Ryder Cup - USA + Official Ryder Cup Guide + The Ryder Cup History + The Ryder Cup Trophy Team USA rallies valiantly, but Europe holds on to win thrilling Ryder Cup Team USA rallies valiantly, but Europe holds on to win thrilling Ryder Cup Europe reclaimed the Ryder Cup on a picture-perfect... 2010 Ryder Cup George Duncan (right), captain of the British Ryder Cup team, is presented with the Ryder Cup by British businessman Samuel Ryder at the 1929 Matches. (Getty Images) The History of the Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup, one of the last great sporting events founded on prestige rather than prize money, was first contested in 1927. The origin of the idea to stage international matches between the best American professionals and those of Great Britain is a subject of debate among golf historians However, Bob Harlow, founder of Golf World and onetime manager of Walter Hagen, reported in 1951 that the concept was first proposed in 1920 by James Harnett, a circulation representative for Golf Illustrated. Harnett had attempted to attract potential readers by raising funds to pay expenses for a professional match between the USA and Great Britain. Harnett didn't get the support he needed until The PGA of America voted at its Annual Meeting on Dec. 15, 1920, to advance Harnett some funds. The rivalry Harnett so eagerly attempted to develop eventually became The Ryder Cup. Unfortunately, Mitchell was suffering from appendicitis and could not join his countrymen at Worcester Country Club, Mass., in 1927 for the inaugural Ryder Cup. The United States Team defeated their counterparts from Great Britain in that historic first match, 9 1/2-2 1/2. The first U.S. Ryder Cup Team was captained by Hagen, a charter Member of The PGA of America. Only American-born players were allowed to join the Team, according to a Selection Committee ruling, April 5, 1927, in Chicago. Joining Hagen on the Team were Leo Diegel, Johnny Farrell, Johnny Golden, Bill Mehlhorn, Gene Sarazen, Joe Turnesa and Al Watrous. Mike Brady and Al Espinosa were named alternates. "Why not?" Ryder asked. Soon, the deed of gift was drafted with Ryder agreeing to donate a solid gold cup, worth £250. The cup was designed by Mappin & Webb Company. Ryder insisted that a golfing figure adorn the lid and that it resemble Mitchell. The first official Ryder Cup was arranged for June 3-4, 1927, at the Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Mass. An appeal for £3,000 to finance the first British Ryder Cup Team was met with apathy and fell £500 short of the goal, but Ryder made up the deficit. After Ryder, the biggest single contribution was £210 from the Stock Exchange Golf Society. With no Order of Merit money-winning list available, the famed British triumvirate of Harry Vardon, James Braid and James Taylor acted as team selection committee. Ryder, who would serve two terms as Mayor of St. Albans, lived to see two Ryder Cup encounters on his home soil. While celebrating the holidays with his family in London, he died of a massive hemorrhage on January 2, 1936. He was 77. In 1981, Joan met the Duke of Kent at The Ryder Cup at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England. She told the royal guest that her father had been surprised by the success of the matches. Joan Ryder's final appearance at The Ryder Cup was at The Belfry in 1985. She called that edition of the matches "the most exciting ever." Later that year, she died at her home in Sussex at age 81. With the outbreak of World War II, The Ryder Cup was suspended from 1939-45, and the U.S. retained the trophy from its 1937 victory. While the outbreak of war in Europe forced the cancellation of The 1939 Ryder Cup at Ponte Vedra Country Club, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., both teams were still named. The United States also continued the spirit of the contest by selecting a 10-member team that participated in "challenge" matches against fellow Americans to raise funds for the American Red Cross, various service organizations and other war-related efforts. With The 1939 Ryder Cup canceled, challenge competitions were arranged from 1940- 43, with two at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich., in 1940 and 1942: at Detroit Golf Club, in 1941: and at Plum Hollow Country Club in 1943. The Ryder Cup Team, which had various members during that period, won four of the five challenge matches. Walter Hagen captained the 1939, '40 and '41 Ryder Cup Teams, while Craig Wood captained the Team in 1942 and 1943. There was no competition in 1939. The 1939 U.S. selections were repeated in 1940 in a challenge match at Oakland Hills Country Club against Gene Sarazen's Challengers. Sarazen, who was left off The Ryder Cup Team, challenged Hagen by assembling a team that included Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret and Craig Wood. During the war, the exhibition matches brought together the greatest American players of the era, including amateur Bobby Jones who led his team to an 8 1/2-6 1/2 upset of The Ryder Cup Team in 1941, at Detroit Golf Club. The Ryder Cup resumed with the seventh meeting to the two teams in 1947 at Portland Golf Club in Oregon. Europeans Join the Fight for the Cup In 1973, The Ryder Cup was contested for the first time in Scotland at historic Muirfield. The PGA of Great Britain altered its selection procedure by having eight players chosen from a year-long points system and four by invitation. The introduction of players from continental Europe into The Ryder Cup fold in 1979 marked a new chapter in the history of the biennial competition and after years of U.S. domination the tide started to turn. The foundations were laid as far back as 1971 when John Jacobs, the first Director General of The European Tour, had the vision to realize that the future lay in Europe. As The European Tour grew into a cosmopolitan mix of players from all nationalities, particularly from the continent, the logical step was to include these players in The Ryder Cup and make the matches Europe versus America. During The 1977 Ryder Cup at Royal Lytham & St Annes, Jack Nicklaus approached the PGA of Great Britain about the urgency to improve the competitive level of the contest. The issue had been discussed earlier the same day by both past PGA of America President Henry Poe and British PGA President Lord Derby. Nicklaus pitched his ideas, adding: "It is vital to widen the selection procedures if The Ryder Cup is to continue to enjoy its past prestige." This meant that professional players on the European Tournament Players' Division, the forerunner to The European Tour we have today, from continental Europe would be eligible to play in The Ryder Cup. The recommendation and succeeding approval of the new selection process followed another American victory at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 1977. The move to include the continental players was a major step in upgrading The Ryder Cup. The U.S. had won all but one outing from 1959 to 1977, the exception being the tied match in a memorable duel in 1969 at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. The first Ryder Cup under the expanded European selection format was played at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., in 1979. The first two Europeans to make the overseas squad were two Spaniards -- Severiano Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido. Ballesteros went on to become one of the all-time winners in The Ryder Cup. He has a record of 20 wins, 12 losses and five halves, good for 22 1/2 points in eight Ryder Cup appearances. The effect of The European Tour, with its varying types of golf courses, climates, food, language and customs, was to produce players of unprecedented durability. They possessed the technique and confidence to deal with all course situations and make The Ryder Cup one of the most compelling events in world sport. With the exception of a miracle come-from-behind 14 1/2-13 1/2 victory in the 1999 Ryder Cup just outside Boston at The Country Club in Brookline, the United States took its lumps in the biennial matches from 1995-2006. Those woes included consecutive record loses at the hands of the Europeans in 2004 at Oakland Hills Country Club (18 1/2-9 1/2) and again in 2006 at the rain-soaked K Club in Straffan, Ireland (18 1/2-9 1/2). All of that changed when the Americans hosted the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., and former PGA Champion and Ryder Cup veteran Paul Azinger took the reigns as the U.S. captain. The charismatic Azinger, who had never been accused of running low on energy, formulated the perfect plan to stop the U.S. skid. Remarkably, Azinger did this even without the services of world No. 1 Tiger Woods, who was forced to miss the matches while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery. The spectacular performances turned in by the younger U.S. Ryder Cup rookies -- Anthony Kim, Ben Curtis, Hunter Mahan and J.B. Holmes -- should provide a solid foundation for the years to come. Ryder Cup Format Changes From the beginning of the series through 1959, The Ryder Cup competition was comprised of four foursomes (alternate shot) matches on one day and eight singles matches on the other day, each of 36 holes. The Ryder Cup was interrupted for the second time in history following the September 11, 2001, attack upon America. Some eight days following the tragedy, The 2001 Ryder Cup was rescheduled to the following year in 2002, with all future competitions conducted in even-numbered years. ©2003-2011 The PGA of America / Ryder Cup limited / Turner Sports Interactive. All rights reserved.