The Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is one of the greatest competitions in sports. It is a match play event that pits two teams of the best pro golfers in the U.S. and Europe against each other every two years, alternating each time across the pond. This year’s drama will be staged September 26-28 at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York. The next spectacle, in 2027, will be the 100th anniversary of the Ryder Cup. I have a chapter about the Ryder Cup and Samuel Ryder Jr., its founder, in my book to be published this week entitled Christ on the PGA Tour (1965-1982) to be available on amazon.com.
U.S. Team Versus Europe Team
The Ryder Cup used to be between the U.S. and Great Britain. Then, at Jack Nicklaus’ suggestion, the other team was changed in 1979 from Great Britain to include it and all of Europe. The reason was it had become a l0p sided affair, with the U.S. dominating. But after that change, Europe has won more times. For instance, Europe won the last event, in 2023, in Italy.
The PGA Tour changed its schedule in 2007 to create more of a definable season by introducing the FedEx Cup Playoffs. That resulted in a layoff period for the big name American pros who compete in the Ryder Cup. This resulted in no PGA Tour tournaments between the Playoffs and the Ryder Cup except the tournament in Napa, California, which now is named The Procore Championship and will be conducted this week on September 11-14.
The Procore Championship
When the Americans lost the Ryder Cup in 2023, some of those players decided it was because they laid off too long before the event, thus not playing any tournaments for the four weeks between the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Ryder Cup. Ten players of the American team of twelve players did this. Thus, only two of them played the only PGA Tour tournament available during that time—The Procore Championship in Napa.
When Scottie Scheffler won the Tour Championship weeks ago, the last leg of the FedEx Playoffs, he was asked if he planned to compete in The Procore Championship as a tuneup for the Ryder Cup. His answer—”Definitely.” That signaled that Scottie probably thought it had been a mistake in 2023 for him to remain idle those four weeks prior to the 2023 Ryder Cup. This year, ten of the twelve American pros who will be representing the U.S. Team for the Ryder Cup are scheduled to compete at Napa.
Silverado in Napa Valley Wine Country
The Procore Championship is staged at an idyllic setting California’s hailed Napa Valley wine country—Silverado Resort and Spa. It has two golf courses: North Course and South Course. The Procore Championship is held on the North Course. (The PGA Tour’s Senior/Champions Tour had a tournament on the South Course for decades, but no longer.) The Procore Championship on the regular Tour has undergone multiple name changes due to changing sponsors. It began in 1968 as The Kaiser International, which I won as my first PGA Tour win. The name changed in 1977 to the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic. That tournament was moved in 1981 to Virginia. The regular Tour resumed a tournament at Silverado’s North Course in 2014.
I also won the Senior Tour’s Transamerica on the South Course at Silverado in 1994. Billy Casper and I held a record, which probably still exists, of winning on both the PGA Tour and its Senior/Champions Tour at the same venue. BTW, I have a chapter about Billy Casper in my new golf book as well, and it has some interesting stories (if I do say so myself) about me and Billy together.
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