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70 free Ryder Cup trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Every two years the Ryder Cup turns golf, the most individual of sports, into a team game played for no prize money and enormous pride. This Ryder Cup trivia quiz covers the whole story, from the seed merchant who donated the trophy and the first official match at Worcester in 1927, through Great Britain's long losing years, the arrival of Seve Ballesteros and continental Europe in 1979, and the modern era of Brookline, Medinah, Whistling Straits, Rome and Bethpage. The early questions are ones any weekend golf fan can get: how often the cup is played, what foursomes and fourballs mean, what happens on a 14–14 tie. Then it gets harder, with the 1969 concession, the War on the Shore, the envelope rule, record point-scorers and the captains who won both home and away. The final stretch is for the true fans who know where the first Team Europe played and who Samuel Ryder hired as his personal coach. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and the individual match reports, so you can trust what you learn here. There are 70 questions, they are free and no sign-up is needed. If you like it, try our Masters and Golf quizzes next.
30 of 70 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How often is the Ryder Cup played?
Every two years
It alternates between venues in Europe and the United States, and the Presidents Cup fills the gap years.
Q 02Samuel Ryder, who donated the trophy, made his fortune selling what?
Garden seeds
His idea was to sell seeds in 'penny packets'. He only took up golf at 50 and became a keen sponsor of tournaments near St Albans.
Q 03Which golfer did Samuel Ryder employ as his private coach from late 1925?
Abe Mitchell
Mitchell played in the unofficial 1926 match at Wentworth and in the first three official Ryder Cups.
Q 04The first official Ryder Cup was held at which venue?
Worcester Country Club, Massachusetts
Ryder himself was too ill to travel and missed the inaugural match, which the Americans won 9½–2½.
Q 05In what year was the first official Ryder Cup played?
1927
An earlier match at Wentworth in 1926 was later ruled unofficial, partly because Walter Hagen had picked the US team himself.
Q 06Who captained the United States in 1927 and became the first winning captain to lift the cup?
Walter Hagen
Hagen captained the first six US teams and was the non-playing captain in 1937.
Q 07How many of the first Ryder Cups were won by the home team before anyone won away?
Five
Great Britain's 1929 and 1933 wins at Moortown and Southport were both at home; the US finally won away in 1937.
Q 08Which country supplied the first two continental European players, in 1979?
Spain
Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido played all four team sessions together and lost three of them.
Q 09The first Ryder Cup with a Team Europe, in 1979, was played at which US resort?
The Greenbrier
The change made no difference at first: the US won 17–11 and led after every session.
Q 10How many players are on each Ryder Cup team?
12
Teams grew from 10 to 12 in 1969. Not everyone has to play on Friday and Saturday, but all 12 play on Sunday.
Q 11How many matches are played over the three days of a modern Ryder Cup?
28
Eight on Friday, eight on Saturday and 12 on Sunday. That means 14½ points wins the cup outright.
Q 12Since 1961, each match has been played over how many holes?
18
Before that, matches were 36 holes and the whole event lasted only two days.
Q 13Which format is played on the final day, when every team member takes part?
Singles
Twelve head-to-head matches, and captains agonise over whether to front-load or back-load their strongest players.
Q 14In a foursomes match, what do the two teammates do?
Q 21Where was the famous tied 1969 Ryder Cup played?
Royal Birkdale
Eighteen of the 32 matches went to the last green, and Sam Snead called it the greatest golf match ever seen in England.
Q 22Great Britain's last win before the Europe era came in 1957 at which Yorkshire course?
Lindrick
Dai Rees was the captain, and no British or GB&I side ever won again.
Q 23Who captained Europe to its first Ryder Cup victory, in 1985?
Tony Jacklin
He led Europe four times from 1983 to 1989, winning twice and tying once.
Whose 22-foot putt on the 18th secured Europe's first win in 1985?
Alternate shots using one ball
One partner tees off on the odd holes and the other on the evens, which is why pairings are chosen so carefully.
Q 15In a fourball match, how is a team's score on each hole decided?
The better of the two players' scores
Fourballs were first played at the Ryder Cup in 1963, when the event grew to three days.
Q 16If the overall score finishes tied at 14–14, what happens?
The defending champion keeps the cup
It has happened twice, in 1969 and 1989, and both times the holders kept it.
Q 17What do the players on the winning team receive in prize money?
Nothing at all
Pride and a place in history are the whole payout, which is why players are often in tears on Sunday.
Q 18Which women's team event is the equivalent of the Ryder Cup?
Solheim Cup
It is named after club-maker Karsten Solheim and was first played in 1990.
Q 19Which event pits the United States against an International team ineligible for the Ryder Cup?
Presidents Cup
It has been played since 1994 and slots into the years when there is no Ryder Cup.
Q 20Who conceded a short putt on the final green in 1969, leaving the whole match tied?
Jack Nicklaus
US captain Sam Snead was not impressed: 'We went over there to win, not to be good ol' boys.'
Sam Torrance
The Scot beat Andy North 1 up, and The Belfry's bar was later named after him.
Q 25Which English resort has hosted the Ryder Cup four times, more than any other venue?
The Belfry
Its Brabazon Course staged the matches in 1985, 1989, 1993 and 2002, and the PGA's headquarters are on site.
Q 26Where did the United States lose a Ryder Cup on home soil for the first time, in 1987?
Muirfield Village, Ohio
The sting was sharper because the course was designed and founded by US captain Jack Nicklaus.
Q 27After snapping his putter in 1987, Ben Crenshaw putted the last dozen holes with what?
His 1-iron
He still took Eamonn Darcy to the last hole before losing.
Q 28Which resort staged the 1991 'War on the Shore'?
Kiawah Island
The name came from over-excited American advertising and a raucous home crowd; the tension is often credited with making the event a TV hit.
Q 29Whose missed six-foot putt on the final hole in 1991 handed the cup back to the United States?
Bernhard Langer
He had just conceded Hale Irwin's 18-inch bogey putt, leaving himself in a must-make position.
Q 30Which American's long-running feud with Seve began in 1989 and boiled over at Kiawah in 1991?
Paul Azinger
Seve's verdict two years later: 'The American team has 11 nice guys. And Paul Azinger.'