| Year | Foursomes | Fourballs | Doubles | Singles | Overall | |||||
| Eur | USA | Eur | USA | Eur | USA | Eur | USA | Eur | USA | |
| 1979 | 4½ | 3½ | 3 | 5 | 7½ | 8½ | 3½ | 8½ | 11 | 17 |
| 1981 | 2 | 6 | 3½ | 4½ | 5½ | 10½ | 4 | 8 | 9½ | 18½ |
| 1983 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 5½ | 6½ | 13½ | 14½ |
| 1985 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 7½ | 4½ | 16½ | 11½ |
| 1987 | 4½ | 3½ | 6 | 2 | 10½ | 5½ | 4½ | 7½ | 15 | 13 |
| 1989 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 14 |
| 1991 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 5½ | 6½ | 13½ | 14½ |
| 1993 | 5 | 3 | 3½ | 4½ | 8½ | 7½ | 4½ | 7½ | 13 | 15 |
| 1995 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7½ | 4½ | 14½ | 13½ |
| 1997 | 5 | 3 | 5½ | 2½ | 10½ | 5½ | 4 | 8 | 14½ | 13½ |
| 1999 | 4½ | 3½ | 5½ | 2½ | 10 | 6 | 3½ | 8½ | 13½ | 14½ |
| 2002 | 3½ | 4½ | 4½ | 3½ | 8 | 8 | 7½ | 4½ | 15½ | 12½ |
| 2004 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 7½ | 4½ | 18½ | 9½ |
| 2006 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 8½ | 3½ | 18½ | 9½ |
| 2008 | 3½ | 4½ | 3½ | 4½ | 7 | 9 | 4½ | 7½ | 11½ | 16½ |
| 2010 | 4½ | 3½ | 5 | 3 | 9½ | 6½ | 5 | 7 | 14½ | 13½ |
| 2012 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 8½ | 3½ | 14½ | 13½ |
| 2014 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 6½ | 5½ | 16½ | 11½ |
| Totals | 76 | 68 | 79 | 65 | 152 | 133 | 103 | 113 | 258 | 246 |
What this doesn't show you (since it aggregates the scores from Friday and Saturday) is that for only the third time in the history of the modern Ryder Cup (i.e. USA against Europe, the period covered by the table) a team won all three individual days of competition. Europe won Friday 5-3, Saturday 5-3 and then Sunday 6½-5½. The only other times this has happened were the two thumping European victories in 2004 and 2006. The winning teams also led after all three days in 1979, 1987, 1997, 2008 and 2010, but in these years they all lost a day's competition along the way: Saturday in 1979 and 2008 and Sunday in 1987, 1997 and 2010.
Clearly there's no competition for Welshman of the Day after Jamie Donaldson's shot to the 15th on Sunday. Donaldson was rock-solid on his Ryder Cup debut, and in fact in general the rookies on both sides all did very well, Donaldson and Dubuisson for Europe, and Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth and Jimmy Walker for the USA. I felt a bit sorry for Stephen Gallacher, who got saddled with an out-of-sorts Ian Poulter against a fired-up Spieth and Reed on Friday and then drawn against Phil Mickelson on Sunday, tough enough even had Mickelson not been pissed off at being benched for Saturday's foursomes and out to prove a point.
So once again we can indulge in some amusing speculation as to why the Americans seem to be unable to get to grips with the Ryder Cup of late. The fractious post-match press conference suggests choice of captain may be an issue. Legendary golfer though he is, Tom Watson did have the air of a bemused great-uncle watching the kids running about at times, and at 65 he was 18 years older than Europe's captain Paul McGinley. The 25 years since Watson's last appearance as a player in 1989 is the second-largest margin for a captain in the modern Ryder Cup era, behind only John Jacobs who captained the losing European team in 1981 having made his sole playing appearance in 1955. By contrast, McGinley appeared as a player as recently as 2006.
So here's an esoteric piece of trivia for you - only once in the last nine Ryder Cups (and only 5 times in the modern era) has the contest been won by the team with the captain with the longer gap since his last playing appearance: Europe in 2006 captained by Ian Woosnam (last playing appearance 1997) beating the USA captained by Tom Lehman (last playing appearance 1999). Five times (Langer and Sutton in 2004, Ballesteros in 1997, Wadkins in 1995, Nicklaus in 1983) a captain was appointed who'd played in the previous Ryder Cup, and, uniquely, Raymond Floyd enjoyed an Indian summer to his career that enabled him to play in two further Ryder Cups as a player after his appearance as captain in 1989.
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