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Revision as of 11:42, 26 September 2006 by Carcharoth (talk | contribs) (explain format)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The 36th Ryder Cup Matches were held between September 22 and September 24, 2006 at The K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Team Europe won the competition by a score of 18½ to 9½, equalling their record winning margin of 2 years earlier. This was the first time Europe had achieved three successive victories. Swedish rookie Henrik Stenson made the winning putt, just moments after Luke Donald had sunk a putt to ensure Europe retained the trophy.
The teams
The top ten players for the USA and Europe as determined by their points performance (variously calculated by their local PGA) received an automatic place on the team. The remaining two players on each team were selected at the discretion of the team Captain. Team USA was finalized on August 21, while qualification for Team Europe ended on September 3. The Official World Golf Rankings shown are as of 17 September 2006, the last set issued before the Ryder Cup. The average ranking of the American team was 29.4 and that of the European team 22.8.
 Team USA
| |||||
| Name | Age | Residence | Points rank |
World ranking |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Lehman | 47 | Austin, Minnesota | Non-playing captain | ||
| Tiger Woods | 30 | Windermere, Florida | 1 | 1 | |
| Phil Mickelson | 36 | Rancho Santa Fe, California | 2 | 2 | |
| Jim Furyk | 36 | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida | 3 | 3 | |
| Chad Campbell | 32 | Lewisville, Texas | 4 | 22 | |
| David Toms | 39 | Monroe, Louisiana | 5 | 16 | |
| Chris DiMarco | 38 | Orlando, Florida | 6 | 15 | |
| Vaughn Taylor | 30 | Augusta, Georgia | 7 | 60 | Ryder Cup rookie |
| J.J. Henry | 31 | Fairfield, Connecticut | 8 | 64 | Ryder Cup rookie |
| Zach Johnson | 30 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | 9 | 42 | Ryder Cup rookie |
| Brett Wetterich | 33 | Cincinnati, Ohio | 10 | 68 | Ryder Cup rookie |
| Stewart Cink | 33 | Huntsville, Alabama | 12 | 23 | Captain's pick |
| Scott Verplank | 42 | Dallas, Texas | 20 | 37 | Captain's pick |
 Team Europe
| ||||
| Name | Age | Residence | World ranking |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} Ian Woosnam
|
48 | Llanymynech, Powys, Wales and Jersey |
Non-playing captain | |
.svg){kind=small} Luke Donald
|
28 | High Wycombe, England and Chicago, Illinois, USA |
9 | |
 Sergio García
|
26 | Borriol, Spain | 8 | |
 Henrik Stenson
|
30 | Dubai, UAE | 11 | Ryder Cup rookie |
| David Howell
|
31 | Weybridge, England | 13 | |
 Colin Montgomerie
|
43 | Oxshott, England | 14 | |
| Robert Karlsson
|
37 | Monaco | 36 | Ryder Cup rookie |
| Paul Casey
|
29 | Weybridge, England and Scottsdale, Arizona, USA |
17 | |
 Padraig Harrington
|
35 | Dublin, Ireland | 18 | |
| José María Olazábal
|
40 | Fuenterrabia, Spain | 19 | |
| Paul McGinley
|
39 | Sunningdale, England | 53 | |
| File:Flag of Northern Ireland (bordered).svg Darren Clarke | 38 | Chobham, England | 24 | Captain's pick |
| Lee Westwood
|
33 | Worksop, England | 51 | Captain's pick |
.svg){kind=link}
Format
The match format was unchanged from previous years. A total of 28 points were available, divided among fours periods of team play, followed by one period of singles play. All play was matchplay, as opposed to strokeplay. The first period, on Friday morning, was four rounds of four-balls. This was followed in the afternoon by four rounds of foursomes. This schedule was repeated on the Saturday morning and afternoon. The four periods on Friday and Saturday accounted for 16 points. During these team periods, the players played in teams of two. The captain of each team could play a player as many or as few times as he desired. The final 12 points were decided in a round of singles matchplay, in which all 24 players (12 from each team) took part.
Friday, September 22
Four-ball
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Montgomerie/Harrington | 1 up
|
Woods/Furyk |
| Casey/Karlsson | Match halved | Cink/Henry |
| García/Olazábal | 3 and 2
|
Toms/Wetterich |
| Clarke/Westwood | 1 up
|
Mickelson/DiMarco |
| 2 ½ | Four-balls | 1 ½ |
| 2 ½ | Overall | 1 ½ |
Foursomes pairings
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| McGinley/Harrington | Match halved | Campbell/Johnson |
| Howell/Stenson | Match halved | Cink/Toms |
| Westwood/Montgomerie | Match halved | Mickelson/DiMarco |
| Donald/García | 2 up
|
Woods/Furyk |
| 2½ | Foursomes | 1½ |
| 5 | Overall | 3 |
Saturday, September 23
Four-ball
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Casey/Karlsson | Match halved | Cink/Henry |
| García/Olazábal | 3 and 2
|
Mickelson/DiMarco |
| Westwood/Clarke | 3 and 2
|
Woods/Furyk |
| Stenson/Harrington | 2 and 1
|
Johnson/Verplank |
| 2½ | Four-balls | 1½ |
| 7½ | Overall | 4½ |
Foursomes pairings
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| García/Donald | 2 and 1
|
Mickelson/Toms |
| Montgomerie/Westwood | Match halved | Campbell/Taylor |
| Casey/Howell | 5 and 4
|
Cink/Johnson |
| Harrington/McGinley | 3 and 2
|
Woods/Furyk |
| 2½ | Foursomes | 1½ |
| 10 | Overall | 6 |
Sunday, September 24
Singles
|
|
Scores |
|
|---|---|---|
| Colin Montgomerie | 1 up
|
David Toms |
| Sergio García | 4 and 3
|
Stewart Cink |
| Paul Casey | 2 and 1
|
Jim Furyk |
| Robert Karlsson | 3 and 2
|
Tiger Woods |
| Luke Donald | 2 and 1
|
Chad Campbell |
| Paul McGinley | Match halved | J.J. Henry |
| Darren Clarke | 3 and 2
|
Zach Johnson |
| Henrik Stenson | 3 and 2
|
Vaughn Taylor |
| David Howell | 5 and 4
|
Brett Wetterich |
| José María Olazábal | 2 and 1
|
Phil Mickelson |
| Lee Westwood | 2 up
|
Chris DiMarco |
| Padraig Harrington | 4 and 3
|
Scott Verplank |
| 8½ | Singles | 3½ |
| 18½ | Overall | 9½ |
The course
The K Club has two Arnold Palmer-designed championship courses and the 36th Ryder Cup was held on the Palmer Course (also known as the North or Old Course). The course is a parkland course located on the banks of the River Liffey, threaded through mature woodlands on the Straffan country estate.
Notes
- The sequence from 1985-1987-1989 included a tie in 1989, retaining the trophy for Europe.
- If the 'dormie' situation is taken into account, then half points can be 'virtually' added from matches still in play where Europe were guaranteed half a point. From this viewpoint, Europe's retention of the trophy was sealed when David Howell sealed his win over Brett Wetterich, and the win was certain when Luke Donald beat Chad Campbell. However, because players in a 'dormie' situation can still be disqualified and lose their match, the scoreboard and the records of the tournament only take account of concluded matches, and so the records credit Donald with ensuring that Europe retained the trophy and rookie Henrik Stenson with guaranteeing the victory.
- After Europe had already won, McGinley conceded a 25-foot birdie putt to Henry on the 18th hole, halving their match. If Henry had putted and missed, Europe's final total would have been a record victory over the Americans. McGinley's action has been described as an example of the "sportsmanship that has come to signify the Ryder Cup."
External links
- Official Ryder Cup site for Team USA
- Official Ryder Cup site for Team Europe
- Ryder Cup Discussion
- Ryder Cup Diary
- Official K Club website
- Ryder Cup news