1997 Ryder Cup Winner, Match Scores, Player Records
The 1997 Ryder Cup was the 32nd time this tournament was played. Following the Team Europe victory, the all-time standings were 23 wins for the United States, seven wins for Europe, and two draws.
Final Score: Europe 14.5, United States 13.5
Dates Played: September 26-28, 1997
Golf Course: Valderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande, Spain
Team Captains: Tom Kite for the United States, Seve Ballesteros for Europe
Team Rosters:
- USA — Tiger Woods, Justin Leonard, Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Jeff Maggert, Mark O'Meara, Scott Hoch, Brad Faxon, Lee Janzen, Fred Couples
- Europe — Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Per-Ulrik Johansson, Lee Westwood, Ignacio Garrido, Thomas Bjorn, Constantino Rocca, Jose Maria Olazabal, Nick Faldo, Jesper Parnevik
Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood were among the five European rookies who helped lead Team Europe to a five-point lead after Day 2.
And while Team USA rallied on the last day, winning the singles session 8-4, Bernhard Langer's win over Brad Faxon provided the point needed to ensure Europe would keep the Cup. Whether Europe would win outright or the Cup would end in a draw came down to the last match on the course, Colin Montgomerie vs. Scott Hoch. On the final hole, Montgomerie conceded Hoch's 15-foot par putt, halving their match and producing the final outcome. (Had Hoch won the hole, the Cup would have ended in a draw, but as the defending champion Team Europe still would have kept the Cup.)
Tiger Woods made his Ryder Cup debut, but it wasn't what anyone expected. He went 1-3-1, including a 4-and-2 singles loss to Constantino Rocca. But among Team USA's three major champions of 1997 — Woods won The Masters, Justin Leonard the British Open and Davis Love III the PGA Championship — Woods was the only one to post a victory. That threesome went a combined 1-9-3.
1997 Ryder Cup Results
Day 1
Foursomes- Jose Maria Olazabal/Constantino Rocca, Europe, def. Davis Love III/Phil Mickelson, USA, 1-up
- Fred Couples/Brad Faxon, USA, def. Nick Faldo/Lee Westwood, Europe, 1-up
- Jesper Parnevik/Per-Ulrik Johansson, Europe, def. Tom Lehman/Jim Furyk, USA, 1-up
- Tiger Woods/Mark O'Meara, USA, def. Colin Montgomerie/Bernhard Langer, Europe, 3 and 2
Fourballs
- Scott Hoch/Lee Janzen, USA, def. Constantino Rocca/Jose Maria Olazabal, Europe, 1-up
- Bernhard Langer/Colin Montgomerie, Europe, def. Mark O'Meara/Tiger Woods, USA, 5 and 3
- Nick Faldo/Lee Westwood, Europe, def. Justin Leonard/Jeff Maggert, USA, 3 and 2
- Jesper Parnevik/Ignacio Garrido, Europe, halved with Tom Lehman/Phil Mickelson, USA
Cumulative score after two sessions: Europe 4.5, USA 3.5
Day 2
Foursomes- Colin Montgomerie/Darren Clarke, Europe, def. Fred Couples/Davis Love III, USA, 1-up
- Ian Woosnam/Thomas Bjorn, Europe, def. Justin Leonard/Brad Faxon, USA, 2 and 1
- Nick Faldo/Lee Westwood, Europe, def. Tiger Woods/Mark O'Meara, USA, 2 and 1
- Jose Maria Olazabal/Ignacio Garrido, Europe, halved with Phil Mickelson/Tom Lehman, USA
Cumulative score after three sessions: Europe 8, USA 4
Fourballs
- Colin Montgomerie/Bernhard Langer, Europe, def. Lee Janzen/Jim Furyk, USA, 1-up
- Scott Hoch/Jeff Maggert, USA, def. Nick Faldo/Lee Westwood, Europe, 2 and 1
- Jesper Parnevik/Ignacio Garrido, Europe, halved with Justin Leonard/Tiger Woods, USA
- Jose Maria Olazabal/Constantino Rocca, Europe, def. Davis Love III/Fred Couples, USA, 5 and 4
Cumulative score after four sessions: Europe 10.5, USA 5.5
Day 3
Singles- Fred Couples, USA, def. Ian Woosnam, Europe, 8 and 7
- Per-Ulrik Johansson, Europe, def. Davis Love III, USA, 3 and 2
- Mark O'Meara, USA, def. Jesper Parnevik, Europe, 5 and 4
- Phil Mickelson, USA, def. Darren Clarke, Europe, 2 and 1
- Constantino Rocca, Europe, def. Tiger Woods, USA, 4 and 2
- Thomas Bjorn, Europe, halved with Justin Leonard, USA
- Tom Lehman, USA, def. Ignacio Garrido, Europe, 7 and 6
- Bernhard Langer, Europe, def. Brad Faxon, USA, 2 and 1
- Jeff Maggert, USA, def. Lee Westwood, Europe, 3 and 2
- Lee Janzen, USA, def. Jose Maria Olazabal, Europe, 1-up
- Jim Furyk, USA, def. Nick Faldo, Europe, 3 and 2
- Colin Montgomerie, Europe, halved with Scott Hoch, USA
Overall and final score: Europe 14.5, USA 13.5
1997 Ryder Cup Player Records
(Records are listed as wins-losses-halves.)
United States
Fred Couples, 2-2-0
Brad Faxon, 1-2-0
Jim Furyk, 1-2-0
Scott Hoch, 2-0-1
Lee Janzen, 2-1-0
Tom Lehman, 1-1-2
Justin Leonard, 0-2-2
Davis Love III, 0-4-0
Jeff Maggert, 2-1-0
Phil Mickelson, 1-1-2
Mark O'Meara, 2-2-0
Tiger Woods, 1-3-1
Europe
Thomas Bjorn, 1-0-1
Darren Clarke, 1-1-0
Nick Faldo, 2-3-0
Ignacio Garrido, 0-1-3
Per-Ulrik Johansson, 2-0-0
Bernhard Langer, 3-1-0
Colin Montgomerie, 3-1-1
Jose Maria Olazabal, 2-2-1
Jesper Parnevik, 1-1-2
Costantino Rocca, 3-1-0
Lee Westwood, 2-3-0
Ian Woosnam, 1-1-0
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