The Ultimate Ryder Cup Quiz

1. What did Earl Woods say in 1997 when he learned he wasn’t allowed to attend Ryder Cup ceremonies in Spain with his then-still-single son, Tiger?

A. "Does Nike know about this outrage?"

B. "I can unequivocally state that I'm more responsible for Tiger being where he is today and have made a bigger contribution to the team than all the wives and girlfriends combined."

C. "I can’t go, anyway, because I’m busy putting the pairings together for Captain Kite."

D. "I’m a Green Beret, I don’t do ceremonies."

2. Which of the following did longtime European Ryder Cup captain Tony Jacklin NOT say?

A. "I lived in Spain for eight years and they couldn’t run a raffle there."

B. "He (Fred Couples) doesn’t react well to pressure. He can’t handle it."

C. "They (American fans) simply cannot accept that a foreign player can be the best. They think that unless John Wayne comes in with a trumpet at the end, it doesn’t work."

D. "I don’t trust the PGA of America as far as they can throw their wallets, which is pretty far."

3. Who holed a memorable nine-foot par putt that clinched victory in the 2002 Ryder Cup at The Belfry?

A. Colin Montgomerie

B. Paul McGinley

C. Peter Alliss

D. Wilford Grimley

4. After the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team was honored with a reception at the White House and a meeting with the President, which team member said, "The only thing that would top off this year any better for me would be to go out and get me a big deer. I'm headed to Missouri and Illinois to do some hunting."?

A. John Daly

B. Bubba Watson

C. Sam Snead

D. Boo Weekley

5. Only one of the following trophies is NOT taller than the Ryder Cup. Which one?

A. The LPGA’s Solheim Cup trophy

B. The NFL’s Lombardi Trophy

C. Hollywood’s Oscar

D. The Open Championship’s Claret Jug

E. The NBA’s Larry O’Brien Trophy

7. What did Captain Ben Hogan tell his 1967 Ryder Cup team in his pre-tournament pep talk, according to team member Johnny Pott?

A. "Pairing is really easy. I’m going to pair together you boys who drive crooked and I’m going to pair you boys who drive straight."

B. "Julius Boros is going to hit the first shot because he don’t give a (bleep) about anything."

C. "If you don’t like the way these uniforms fit or whatnot, don’t wear them. I never could play in somebody else’s clothes."

D. "Let me tell you boys one thing — I don’t want my name on that trophy as a losing captain."

E. All of the above

8. Which of the following happened at the 1933 Ryder Cup at Moortown Golf Club?

A. Singles matches were 36 holes.

B. American Denny Shute three-putted from 20 feet on the final green to lose his match with Syd Easterbrook and give Great Britain the win.

C. The team captains squared off in one of the singles matches, with George Duncan crushing the overconfident legend, Walter Hagen, 7 and 5.

D. Samuel Ryder watched the Ryder Cup for the last time.

E. Hagen wanted to tell Shute to lag his last 20-footer to guarantee at least a probable tie but didn’t because he was engaged in conversation with The Prince of Wales — the future King Edward VIII — and felt it would be rude to walk away from the prince.

F. All of the above

9. The Ryder Cup resumed after an eight-year absence during World War II because of Robert Hudson, who paid for the British team to take the Queen Mary to the U.S. and then travel by train to Portland, Oregon. Who was Robert Hudson?

A. The mayor of Portland

B. An Oregon fruit grower and PGA of America committee member

C. A highly decorated WWI flying ace who was hoping to be the first to fly across the Atlantic but when he took ill was replaced in the cockpit by Charles Lindbergh

D. Founder of the Hudson Motor Car Company, which later merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors Corp.

10. Scotland’s Sam Torrance made an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole at the Belfry to win the 1985 Ryder Cup and earn Europe’s first Ryder Cup victory since including the whole continent in 1979. Who did Torrance beat in singles?

A. Ben Crenshaw

B. Andy North

C. Arnold Palmer

D. Roger Maltbie

11. Which print media outlet tagged the 1991 Ryder Cup as “The War By the Shore” in its preview, a nickname that has outlasted its printed creator?

A. Golf Illustrated

B. The National

C. Golf World

D. Golf Punk magazine

12. What story did George W. Bush, the governor of Texas, feature in his Saturday night pep talk when the U.S. team at Brookline in the 1999 Ryder Cup faced a 10-6 deficit (that it famously overcame the next day)?

A. How Tiger Woods came back from 5 down to win the U.S. Amateur

B. Teddy Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War

C. William Barrett Travis’ refusal to surrender the Alamo

D. How America rallied in World War II after the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor

13. After Europe’s stunning defeat in 1999, what did Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal toss from the team’s second-floor balcony to fans gathered below?

A. The shirt he wore in his famous match with Justin Leonard

B. Several drivers he used poorly

C. Several drivers Jarmo Sandelin used poorly

D. Jarmo Sandelin

14. In 1985, the PGA of America awarded the 1991 Ryder Cup (later played instead at Kiawah Island’s yet-to-be-built Ocean Course) to which course?

A. PGA West

B. The Links at Stately Wayne Manor

C. Cypress Point

D. Trump National Doral Miami

15. Why did the Captain Ben Hogan’s U.S. team bring its own meat, including 600 steaks, on board the S.S. Queen Elizabeth for use during the 1949 Ryder Cup in Ganton, England?

A. England was suffering from a severe beef shortage

B. Sam Snead complained that English food "wasn’t fit for man nor sheep."

C. Ralston-Purina was a supporting sponsor

D. Team backer Bob Hudson bought the meat to insure the U.S. team would be properly fed, especially Hogan, who was recovering from a near-fatal car accident.

16. Who is on the cover of Golf Magazine’s current “Special Ryder Cup Issue”?

A. Aaron Rodgers

B. Tony Romo

C. Patrick Mahomes

D. Conan O’Brien

18. According to Nick Faldo, what was Captain Bernard Gallacher’s brief motivating speech after the Europeans fell behind going into Sunday’s singles matches at the 1995 Ryder Cup at Oak Hill, 9-7?

A. "We know Faldo is going to beat Curtis Strange tomorrow. The rest of you lot just get on with it."

B. "You know what you have to do tomorrow, don’t you? You’ve got to win your point. Now go get some food."

C. "Lads, we’ve got Monty, Woosie, Nick, Ollie, Westy and Darren and they’ve got Peter Jacobsen, Brad Faxon and some old coots. Onward."

D. "As Winston Churchill once said, 'Give me the Europeans for 100 quid at 25-1 odds.' "

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The Ultimate Ryder Cup Quiz