How do modern day players like Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods compare to the greatest Ryder Cup points scorers of all time? We count down the Top 10.
The two biggest names of European and American golf over the last couple of decades or so have a way to go to catch the likes of Sergio Garcia, Severiano Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, who all feature in the Top 10 leading Ryder Cup points scorers of all time.
McIlroy has made six Ryder Cup appearances since his debut in 2010, four of which ended in victory for Team Europe. The Northern Irishman has played in 24 matches, winning 12, losing 12 and halving four, with a total points tally of 14. Not enough overall points to get into the all-time Top 10.
Woods has played in eight Ryder Cups, with a record of 13-21-3 (wins, losses, halves), earning a total of 14.5 points. Only half a point more than McIlroy despite having played in two more Ryder Cups. In those eight appearances, Team USA only won the trophy once, in 1999.
Pairings
In terms of pairings, Seve Ballesteros and Jose María Olazabal are way out on their own, having played together in 15 matches winning a remarkable 12 points. Nearest to them in terms of points are fellow Europeans Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, and Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson, all of whom collected six points as a pairing.
For the Americans, the most successful pairings are Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth, and Gardner Dickinson and Arnold Palmer, both winning five points.
2023 teams
Among the players making up the 2023 teams, McIlroy is joined by Justin Rose as the leading European Ryder Cup points scorer. Rose has made five appearances amassing 14 points and a record of 13-8-2. The same amount of points as McIlroy with one less cup appearance.
For Team USA, four-time player Jordan Spieth is the leading points scorer with 9.5 and a record of 8-7-3. He is followed by Brooks Koepka who has featured in three Ryder Cups prior to 2023 with a record of 6-5-1 and 6.5 points.
Current world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will be getting his second cap in 2023 after going 2-0-1 on his Ryder Cup debut in 2021 (2.5 points), including a 4&3 singles match win over Jon Rahm who will be making his third Ryder Cup appearance in 2023, with a record so far of 4-3-1 (4.5 points).
Team Europe’s all-time leading points scorers
1: Sergio Garcia 28.5
2: Nick Faldo 25
3: Bernhard Langer 24
4: Colin Montgomerie 23.5
5: Lee Westwood 23
6: Severiano Ballesteros 22.5
7: Jose Maria Olazabal 20.5
8: Tony Jacklin 17
9: Ian Woosnam 16.5
10: Peter Oosterhuis, Bernard Gallacher, Neil Coles 15.5
