Editing Ryder Cup (section)

==Format==
The Ryder Cup involves various [[match play]] competitions between players selected from two teams of twelve. It takes place from a Friday to a Sunday with a total of 28 matches being played, all matches being over 18 holes. On Friday and Saturday there are four fourball matches and four foursomes matches each day; a session of four matches in the morning and a session of four matches in the afternoon. On Sunday, there are 12 singles matches, when all team members play. Not all players must play on Friday and Saturday; the captain can select any eight players for each of the sessions over these two days.

The winner of each match scores a point for his team, with half a point each for any match that is tied after the 18 holes. The winning team is determined by cumulative total points. In the event of a tie (14 points each) the Ryder Cup is retained by the team who held it before the contest.

A [[foursomes]] match is a competition between two teams of two golfers. On a particular hole the golfers on the same team take alternate shots playing the same ball. One team member tees off on all the odd-numbered holes, and the other on all the even-numbered holes. Each hole is won by the team that completes the hole in the fewest shots. 

A [[Four-ball golf|fourball]] match is also a competition between two teams of two golfers, but all four golfers play their own ball throughout the round rather than alternating shots. The better score of the two golfers in a team determines the team's score on a particular hole; the score of the other member of the team is not counted. Each hole is won by the team whose individual golfer has the lowest score. A singles match is a standard match play competition between two golfers.

The format of the Ryder Cup has changed over the years. From the inaugural event until [[1959 Ryder Cup|1959]], the Ryder Cup was a two-day competition with 36-hole matches. In [[1961 Ryder Cup|1961]] the matches were changed to 18 holes each and the number of matches doubled. In [[1963 Ryder Cup|1963]] the event was expanded to three days, with fourball matches being played for the first time. This format remained until [[1977 Ryder Cup|1977]], when the number of matches was reduced to 20, but, in [[1979 Ryder Cup|1979]], the first year continental European players participated, the format was changed to the 28-match version in use today, with 8 foursomes/four-ball matches on the first two days and 12 singles matches on the last day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishgolfguide.net/content.php?page=15 |title=Ryder Cup Match History |access-date=24 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008075706/http://www.irishgolfguide.net/content.php?page=15 |archive-date=8 October 2007}}</ref> Because of weather disruption the format of the [[2010 Ryder Cup|2010]] contest was altered and it was extended to a fourth day.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan=2 | Year !! colspan=2 | Day 1 !! colspan=2 | Day 2 !! colspan=2 | Day 3 !! rowspan=2 | Total<br />points
|-
! Morning || Afternoon || Morning || Afternoon || Morning || Afternoon
|-
| [[1927 Ryder Cup|1927]]–[[1959 Ryder Cup|59]] || colspan=2 | 4 36-hole foursomes || colspan=2 | 8 36-hole singles || colspan=2| – || 12
|-
| [[1961 Ryder Cup|1961]] || 4 foursomes || 4 foursomes || 8 singles || 8 singles || colspan=2| – || 24
|-
| [[1963 Ryder Cup|1963]]–[[1971 Ryder Cup|71]] || 4 foursomes || 4 foursomes || 4 fourballs || 4 fourballs || 8 singles || 8 singles || 32
|-
| [[1973 Ryder Cup|1973]] || 4 foursomes || 4 fourballs || 4 foursomes || 4 fourballs || 8 singles || 8 singles || 32
|-
| [[1975 Ryder Cup|1975]] || 4 foursomes || 4 fourballs || 4 fourballs || 4 foursomes || 8 singles || 8 singles || 32
|-
| [[1977 Ryder Cup|1977]]|| colspan=2 | 5 foursomes || colspan=2 | 5 fourballs || colspan=2 | 10 singles || 20
|-
| rowspan=3 | [[1979 Ryder Cup|1979]]–<br>present || 4 foursomes || 4 fourballs || 4 foursomes || 4 fourballs || rowspan=3 colspan=2 | 12 singles || rowspan=3 | 28
|-
| colspan=2 | or || colspan=2 | or
|-
| 4 fourballs || 4 foursomes || 4 fourballs || 4 foursomes
|}
The team size was increased from 10 to 12 in [[1969 Ryder Cup|1969]].

There were two singles sessions (morning and afternoon) in [[1979 Ryder Cup|1979]], but no player played in both sessions.

Since [[1979 Ryder Cup|1979]], there have been 4 foursomes and 4 fourballs on each of the first two days. Currently the home captain decides before the contest starts whether the fourball or foursomes matches are played in the morning. He may choose a different order for the two days.

Since [[1979 Ryder Cup|1979]], a player can play a maximum of 5 matches (2 foursomes, 2 fourballs and a singles match), however from [[1963 Ryder Cup|1963]] to 1975 it was possible to play 6 matches (2 foursomes, 2 fourballs and 2 singles matches).

[[File:Valderrama Retro Golf scorecard.jpg|thumb|1993 scorecard of [[Valderrama Golf Club|Valderrama]], continental Europe's most renowned course. It was the first club outside the United Kingdom and United States to host the competition, in [[1997 Ryder Cup|1997]]]]