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As intense as the Ryder Cup can be, it also has its fair share of moments that make your eyes well up.
Here are six of the most heartwarming moments in the nearly 100-year Ryder Cup history.
Rory Comes Full Circle
Rory McIlroy caught heat in 2009 when he called the Ryder Cup “an exhibition” that was “not that important” to him.
Well, Team Europe was walloped at Whistling Straits in 2021, and it was clear he had done a total 180 from his previous thoughts.
“The more and more I play in this event, I realize that it’s the best event in golf, bar none,” McIlroy said, fighting back tears. “I love being a part of it. I can’t wait to be a part of many more. It’s the best …
“They’ve always been my greatest experiences in my career. I’ve never really cried or got emotional over what I’ve done as an individual. I couldn’t give a s—, but this team and what it feels like… all of that, it’s phenomenal, and I’m so happy to be a part of it.”
Seve Looks Down on Europe
The 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah was the first since Seve Ballesteros, a major factor in what the Ryder Cup is today, died at age 54 of brain cancer.
Ballesteros put Team Europe on the map when Team Great Britain and Ireland expanded to include the entire continent, making him a mainstay.
Team Europe trailed 10-6 entering Sunday singles on the road. In honor of Ballesteros, Team Europe wore touches of his typical navy blue on Sunday to summon some magic, and it worked.
The Europeans went 8-3-1 in the Sunday singles to win the Cup, 14.5-13.5, capped off by Martin Kaymer’s cup-clinching putt.
Upon the victory, Team Europe captain and fellow Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal could barely keep his emotions in check.
“This one is for him,” he said, covering his face with his hat.
A Heavy Heart
A fan favorite overseas, Darren Clarke was playing in his fifth Ryder Cup in 2006. But he was playing just six weeks after the death of his wife.
Clarke entered the K Club in Ireland with a heavy heart, but the fans gave him the loudest ovations by far throughout the week.
Clarke won all three of his matches, including a 3 & 2 singles victory against Zach Johnson, where Clarke almost instantly broke down in tears and shared long embraces with members of Team USA.
Nicklaus Concedes
Perhaps the best moment of sportsmanship occurred in 1969 at Royal Birkdale in England in a singles match between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin.
After Nicklaus parred the 18th, the United States had enough points to retain the Ryder Cup, so all Europe could do was lose outright. But Nicklaus picked up Jacklin’s ball marker, conceding the 3-foot putt, which resulted in the Ryder Cup ending in a tie.
“I don’t think you would have missed it, but I wasn’t going to give you the chance, either,” Nicklaus told Jacklin.
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Perhaps it was a win-win for Nicklaus (although USA captain Sam Snead was said to be angry at Nicklaus for losing out on the opportunity for an outright win), but it has since become a staple Ryder Cup moment. Beginning in 2021, the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award has been awarded to members of each team who best exemplify sportsmanship. The duo also designed The Concession Golf Club in Sarasota.
Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy Realize The Moment
Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed were the first singles match on Sunday at Hazeltine, and both showed incredible emotion throughout the entire 18 holes. McIlroy would hush the USA crowd after putts, while Reed would bow to their applause.
On the par-three eighth hole, McIlroy was well away, roughly 45 feet to Reed’s 15. But after making the nearly impossible putt, McIlroy, the same golfer who said he would not be “running around fist-pumping” during a Ryder Cup, let out an emphatic scream and yelled, “F—ing come on! I can’t hear you!”
But Reed knocked down his putt, and gave McIlroy the old Dikembe Mutombo finger wag.
McIlroy, though, couldn’t help but crack a smile, and after celebrating with the crowd, Reed and McIlroy fist-bumped and patted one another on the back.
It remains maybe the most tense singles match of all time, and this moment doesn’t exactly tear at the heartstrings, but even both golfers were able to acknowledge the beauty of a magical moment.
Rivals Find Respect
Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo were two of the biggest golf rivals before the turn of the century.
Both masters of their craft from overseas, the two had very different styles of play and attitudes, all while trying to beat one another on the course.
But in 1995, when Faldo dropped the Cup-clinching putt, one of the first people to hug him was Ballesteros, who was holding back tears.
After Ballesteros died, Faldo credited Ballesteros for helping make the Ryder Cup what it is today.
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