The Walker Cup

Like the Ryder Cup, the Walker Cup started as an unofficial match between the best amateurs in the USA and Britain. It is five years older than the Ryder Cup. The original idea of George H. Walker, President of the United States Golfing Association, was to have an amateur competition open to all countries. The response he got was disappointing but he persevered and a team was sent from the USA to play at Hoylake in 1921. This first match was dubbed the "Walker Cup" by the local press and the Americans won 9-3. The match was played annually for the first three years but thereafter every other year. The first 31 matches, up until 1987 , were generally very one-sided. The Great Britain and Ireland team won only twice, both times at St Andrews, in 1938 and 1971, and there was a tied match at 12 points each in Baltimore in 1965. Since 1989 the matches have been much more even with each country winning twice. The British victory in 1989 was the first-ever on American soil. A number of the leading professional players have played in the Walker Cup as amateurs, such as Sandy Lyle, Peter Oosterhuis and Colin Montgomerie for Great Britain, and Jack Nicklaus, Tom Kite, Gene Littler, Craig Stadler and Curtis Strange for the USA.

The Solheim Cup

In 1990 the Solheim Cup was inaugurated for the leading professional women golfers in Europe and the USA, and was first played for at Lake Nona, Florida. All the ties so far have been "home wins" and therefore he Americans have two victories to the European women's one.