The 10 Most Dramatic Moments In Ryder Cup History

It’s been close to a century since the Ryder Cup was played for the very first time, and we’ll be treated to the latest installment when the 45th edition kicks off at Bethpage Black. It’s spawned plenty of drama over the years, but there are certain moments that really stand out from the rest of the pack.

These are the most dramatic moments to ever transpire at the Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup has been a haven for dramatic moments since its inception in 1927, and while it can be hard to narrow down the best ones, there are certain ones that emerge when you comb through its storied history, including…

Bernhard Langer’s Do-Or-Die Putt

Plenty of kids grow up fantasizing about sinking a buzzer-beater to win the NBA Finals or hitting a walk-off home run to end the World Series, and making a putt that has the potential to either win or lose the Ryder Cup is essentially the golf equivalent of those scenarios.

That’s the situation Bernhard Langer found himself facing at Kiawah Island in 1991, as the German staged a comeback toward the end of his match with Hale Irwin and ended up with a six-foot putt he needed to sink to force a tie that would result in Europe retaining its trophy.

It was a downhill attempt with multiple inches of break that was not an easy putt by any means, and he ultimately pushed it right to give Team USA the victory.

The Drama Leading Up To That Do-Or-Die Putt

Langer’s putt was the culmination of a very spirited Ryder Cup defined by the gamesmanship and cheating accusations that permeated the event.

I’m being liberal with the definition of “moment” here, as this is really a string of incidents. The first transpired on Friday during the four-ball match between Europe’s Jose Maria Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros and America’s Paul Azinger and Chip Beck, as the second duo violated the “one ball” rule by picking different golf balls based on their compression levels in an attempt to gain an edge on holes.

Officials weren’t able to issue a penalty because the violation wasn’t immediately called out, but Ballesteros was accused of responding by “developing” a cough that just so happened to interfere with the backswing of his opponents on Saturday before Raymond Floyd confronted him.

The putt that Langer made came after Irwin appeared to send his tee shot on the 18th into some sand dunes before it was found on the fringe of the fairway. It seemed to have struck a spectator before landing there, but some conspiracy theorists believe he got some help.

Justin Leonard Clinches The Victory In The Battle At Brookline

The Americans were facing an uphill battle heading into the final day of the Ryder Cup at The Country Club in Brookline in 1999. Their opponents had a 10-6 lead, but the guys rocking one of the ugliest uniforms in the event’s history made things interesting by winning the first six matches before Europe was finally able to respond.

The outcome was still up in the air with two matches left to play, although it looked like Jose Maria Olazabal was going to cruise to a victory over Justin Leonard after going up four holes with just seven to play. However, they were all square by the time they arrived on the 17th before Leonard sank a 45-foot birdie putt that caused his teammates to storm onto the green to celebrate.

Olazábal still had the chance to keep the match going with a birdie of his own once the dust settled but missed the 25-footer to ensure Team USA would earn the half point needed to clinch the victory.

There sadly isn’t any footage of the bunker shot Seve Ballesteros pulled off at PGA National in Palm Beach in 1983, but I still have to mention it based on the impression it left on Jack Nicklaus.

The legendary Spaniard was facing off against Fuzzy Zoeller when his tee shot ended up in a bunker 245 yards away from the green on the 18th hole on Sunday. All signs pointed to Zoeller being able to take advantage of that miscue, but Ballesteros took the wind out of his sails by pulling out a three-wood that snuck out of the bunker, made its way over a water hazard, and landed near the green to set him up for the par that would halve the hole and the match.

The Americans were still able to eke out the 14 1/2-13 1/2 win, but Nicklaus described the stroke that helped make it as close as it was as “the greatest shot I ever saw.”

The Miracle At Medina

All signs pointed to the United States coming out on top heading into the final day of the Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club in 2012. The Americans had a 10-6 lead with a dozen singles matches left on the slate, and they only needed to win four of them to ensure they’d finish with nothing worse than a tie.

However, the Europeans staged a rally for the ages and managed to take a 14-13 lead when Martin Kaymer beat Steve Stricker to win their eighth showdown of the day. Team USA still had the chance to salvage things if Tiger Woods beat Francesco Molinari, but they ended up tying to give the visiting squad the half-point they needed to cap off the comeback in enemy territory.

Nick Faldo Makes Paul Azinger Sink A Meaningless Putt

There was already some history between Nick Faldo and Paul Azinger when the two men respectively represented Europe and the United States at The Belfry in 1993, and we were treated to a new chapter thanks to what transpired there.

The Ryder Cup was still up for grabs when they teed off on Sunday, but it had already been clinched by the time they arrived on the 18th green to cap off a match where Faldo had made a hole-in-one.

Azinger needed to make a six-footer to halve the hole and the match, and while Ryder Cup etiquette dictated Faldo wouldn’t actually make him attempt it, he was forced to do exactly that before rising to the occasion and sinking it.

Rory McIlroy Loses His Cool In The Parking Lot

All of the moments we’ve mentioned so far went down on the golf course, but there was one very notable exception thanks to what went down at Marco Simone in 2023.

This can be traced back to what transpired during the match that saw Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick face off against Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark. Cantlay sunk a lengthy putt that sparked a celebration where his caddie, Joe LaCava, was accused of interfering with McIlroy as he prepared for one of his own to try to stay alive, which led to some simmering tensions that ended up boiling over.

The Northern Irishman went off on LaCava and Jim “Bones” Macakay (who was on the bag for Justin Thomas) as he was preparing to depart that evening, and Shane Lowry stepped in to usher McIlroy to his car in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

McIlroy and the Europeans got the last laugh by winning in Italy, but there were still some lingering tensions well after the event wrapped up.

Rory McIlroy vs. Patrick Reed In 2016

That wasn’t the only drama-filled Ryder Cup moment McIlroy has been involved with, as his showdown with Patrick Reed at Hazeltine in 2016 is one of the most memorable tilts we’ve been treated to in recent memory.

Reed took full advantage of the home-course advantage he was feeding off of while repeatedly going out of his way to get the crowd amped up with the various gestures the normally reserved McIlroy also harnessed while embracing his role as the villain.

The two golfers spent the bulk of the round trading blows until Reed landed the knockout punch on the 18th hole to get the 1-up victory.

Phil Mickelson vs. Sergio Garcia In 2016

Reed’s win over McIlroy may not have even been the best match of the Ryder Cup in 2016, as you could very easily argue there were two veterans who managed to outdo them.

No golfer has racked up more points at the Ryder Cup than the 28.5 Sergio Garcia has to his name, while Phil Mickelson holds the record for the most appearances a golfer from either team has had with 12.

It seemed like we were in for something special when the two of them faced off at Hazeltine, as Lefty had the chance to clinch a tie with a win while Garcia essentially needed to get a victory of his own to keep Europe’s hope alive.

The two of them ended up combining for 19 birdies in a match for the ages, but the only winners were the people who got to watch the two men play to a tie.

The Concession

This is the oldest moment on this list, and it’s arguably the most iconic.

1969 marked the 18th iteration of the Ryder Cup, and the United States and the United Kingdom (which was a decade away from expanding to all of Europe) had never tied heading into the tournament at Royal Birkdale.

However, it was a very real possibility when Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin hit the links for the final round of the tournament, and the two men were all knotted up when they teed off on the 18th hole of what had been a fairly acrimonious event to the point where the captains of both teams had instructed their players to tone it down a notch.

Nicklaus made his putt for par, and Jacklin was left with a three-footer to force a tie that would result in a Ryder Cup stalemate. It seemed safe to assume he was going to make it, but his opponent didn’t give him the chance to miss it by conceding the putt in the name of sportsmanship.