Golfers Who Won the Most Points in the Ryder Cup
Which golfer has won the most points for his team in the Ryder Cup? The all-time Ryder Cup points leader is Sergio Garcia, who earned nearly 30 points for Team Europe over his Ryder Cup career.
Garcia first played in the 1999 Ryder Cup, and last in the 2021 Ryder Cup. Over those 10 playing appearances, he played in 45 matches. Garcia won 25 of those matches, lost 13 and halved (tied) seven.
Ryder Cup golfers earn one point by winning a match, and a half-point for tying a match. So Garcia's career record of 25-13-7 adds up to 28.5 points. Garcia was the second golfer to reach 25 points in Ryder Cup play, but the first to get beyond 25. The leading point-winner for Team USA is Billy Casper with 23.5 points.
Following are all the golfers who've won at least 20 points over their Ryder Cup appearances:
Career Points Leaders in the Ryder Cup
- Sergio Garcia, Europe, 28.5 points (25-13-7 record, wins-losses-halves)
- Nick Faldo, Europe, 25 points (23-19-4 record)
- Bernhard Langer, Europe, 24 points (21-15-6 record)
- Lee Westwood, Europe, 24 points (21-20-6 record)
- Colin Montgomerie, Europe, 23.5 points (20-9-7 record)
- Billy Casper, USA, 23.5 points (20-10-7 record)
- Arnold Palmer, USA, 23 points (22-8-2 record)
- Seve Ballesteros, Europe, 22.5 points (20-12-5 record)
- Lanny Wadkins, USA, 21.5 points (20-11-3 record)
- Phil Mickelson, USA, 21.5 points (18-22-7 record)
- Jose Maria Olazabal, Europe, 20.5 points (18-8-5 record)
- Lee Trevino, USA, 20 points (17-7-6 record)
If you compare the above list to the one in our article about golfers with the most match wins in the Ryder Cup, you'll find a lot of overlap. But the order might be slightly different, and you'll also find a couple names in this list that don't show up in the article about match wins.
You might have noticed that having a great record in Ryder Cup play isn't necessarily required to make the list above. Playing in a lot of matches is required. Lee Westwood's winning percentage was barely over .500 (it was .511). Phil Mickelson actually had a losing record (18-22-7). But they played in the competition so many times — 11 Ryder Cups and 47 matches in Westwood's case, 12 Cups and 47 matches for Mickelson — that they accumulated a lot of points despite not having great won-loss records.
Who does have the best winning percentages among the golfers listed above? Arnold Palmer won 69-percent of his Ryder Cup matches, and Lee Trevino won 67-percent of his. The all-time Ryder Cup points leader, Sergio Garcia, won 63-percent of his matches, a superb won-loss percentage.
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