The 32nd Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Valderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande, Spain, marking the first time the event was contested in continental Europe.
The European team won the competition by a margin of 14½ to 13½ and retained the Ryder Cup.
The European Ryder Cup Team didn’t need to mount a final-day comeback to win the 32nd Ryder Cup, the first contested in continental Europe.
However, the hosts did have to withstand an American rally that fell short of a miracle. Led by five rookies – Denmark’s Thomas Bjørn, Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, Spain’s Ignacio Garrido, Sweden’s Jesper Parnevik and England’s Lee Westwood –
Europe built a 10.5 to 5.5 advantage after two days. America’s trio of stars – Masters Champion Tiger Woods, Open Champion Justin Leonard and PGA Champion Davis Love III – stumbled to a 1-9-3 showing.
Woods earned the only victory in a first-day four-ball match with partner Mark O’Meara, then suffered a stunning 4-and-2 singles defeat to Italy’s Costantino Rocca.
The U.S. won the final-day singles, 8-4, but came a point short of winning back the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1993.
The final drama to determine either a tie or an outright European victory came down to the final two players left on soggy Valderrama: Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie halved with Scott Hoch, conceding a 15-foot par putt for Hoch and sealing the 14.5 to 13.5 victory