Ryder Cup: By the numbers
By T.J. Auclair
Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2014 | 8:45 a.m.
The stage is set for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland, which tees off on Friday, Sept. 26.
Before the 40th edition of the biennial matches gets underway, here's a look at how some numbers relate to interesting facts about the Ryder Cup.
1: The number of times prior to 2014 that the Ryder Cup has been contested in Scotland, the birthplace of golf. Muirfield hosted the 1973 matches, won by the U.S., 19-13.
5: The number of Vice Captains European Captain Paul McGinley will have at the 2014 Ryder Cup -- Des Smyth, Sam Torrance, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Pádraig Harrington and José María Olazábal.
7: The number of U.S. Ryder Cup Captains -- including Tom Watson in 2014 -- who have been captain more than once. This is Watson's second Ryder Cup at the U.S. helm. Walter Hagen captained a record six U.S. teams.
1987: The last time, until this year, that the U.S. had a repeat captain. Jack Nicklaus captained for the second time that year in a 15-13 U.S. loss at Muirfield Village.
3: The number of Vice Captains U.S. Captain Tom Watson will have at the 2014 Ryder Cup -- Raymond Floyd, Andy North and Steve Stricker.
65: Tom Watson's age when the Ryder Cup tees off, making him the oldest Captain in the history of the matches. Sam Snead was previously the oldest U.S. Captain at age 57 in 1969. J.H. Taylor was 62 when he captained the Great Britain team in 1933.
2: The number of times the Ryder Cup has been halved. It happened for the first time in 1969, but the U.S. retained the cup by virtue of it's win in 1967. It happened again in 1989 with Europe retaining by virtue of its 1987 victory.
9: The number of Ryder Cups decided by one point. The U.S. has won four of those, Europe has won five.
25-12-2: The all-time U.S. record in the Ryder Cup (wins, losses, halves).
6: The number of rookies that will take part in the 2014 Ryder Cup -- three from the U.S. (Jimmy Walker, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed) and three from Europe (Victor Dubuisson, Jamie Donaldson and Stephen Gallacher).
8: Combined number of major championships won by the European team -- Rory McIlroy (4); Martin Kaymer (2); Justin Rose (1); Graeme McDowell (1).
11: Combined number of major championships won by the U.S. team -- Phil Mickelson (5); Bubba Watson (2); Jim Furyk (1); Keegan Bradley (1); Webb Simpson (1); Zach Johnson (1).
31: Combined number of Ryder Cups played by European team members prior to the 2014 matches. Lee Westwood leads the way with eight.
29: Combined number of Ryder Cup matches played by U.S. team members prior to the 2014 matches. Phil Mickelson leads the way with nine.
4: Number of European team members who currently occupy spots in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking -- Rory McIlroy, No. 1; Sergio Garcia, No. 3; Henrik Stenson, No. 4; Justin Rose, No. 6.
3: Number of U.S. team members who currently occupy spots in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking -- Jim Furyk, No. 5; Bubba Watson, No. 7; Matt Kuchar, No. 9.
80%: The Ryder Cup winning percentage of Ian Poulter, who owns a 12-3-0 record in four appearances. That's the best winning percentage on either side.