Home advantage now seems to be a much bigger deal in the Ryder Cup with the hosts winning the last five in a row as both Europe and Team USA have found away wins harder and harder to come by.
At Bethpage Black, thanks to what will be a hugely intimidating home crowd in New York, it looks like the toughest away day in the competition’s history – and going on recent results that’s saying something.
In fact, there’s been just one away victory in the last nine Ryder Cup meetings – and even that took the Miracle of Medinah to strike in 2012 when Europe claimed that epic comeback victory.
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Apart from that, the home side has been dominant with 11 home wins in the last 13 matches and recently it’s not been a particularly close contest either.
How many Ryder Cup away wins have there been?
Overall, since Europe joined the Ryder Cup in 1979 there have been 22 meetings, with just six away wins during that span – four of those by Europe as the Americans have seriously struggled on the road.
The previous 22 Ryder Cups involving Great Britain and later Ireland were heavily one-sided, with the Americans winning 18 of them – but when Europe came to the party things changed.
Team USA just haven’t managed to travel well, as they’ve lost the last seven trips to Europe with their last away win still being that 1993 effort at The Belfry.
That was just a second away win, the other being at Walton Heath in 1981, which is as much joy as the USA have tasted on foreign soil – with the 1989 tie at The Belfry still seing Europe retain the trophy.
Europe have had much more joy, triumphing on US soil for the first time in 1987 at Muirfield Village and following it up in 1995 at Oak Hill, 2004 at Oakland Hills and that epic 2012 success at Medinah.
Away wins in the Ryder Cup
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Since Europe joined in 1979
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Year
Result
Venue
1981
Europe 9.5-18.5 USA
Walton Heath
1987
USA 13-15 Europe
Muirfield Village
1993
Europe 13-15 USA
Belfry
1995
USA 13.5-14.5 Europe
Oak Hill
2004
USA 9.5-18.5 Europe
Oakland Hills
2012
USA 13.5-14.5 Europe
Medinah
Home advantage getting greater
(Image credit: Getty Images)
There’s no doubt that home advantage is becoming more important, even when travel has become much easier and European players have far more experience of playing on the PGA Tour in the States.
It wasn’t always the case, as when Europe joined the Ryder Cup, after an early American run it was pretty even and in terms of home advantage there proved hardly any at all.
In the first nine Ryder Cups with Europe involved there were four home wins, four away wins and one tie – a perfectly symmetrical record that proved the better team won no matter where it was played.
Since then though things have changed, with just those two European away wins in the following 13 and the margin of victory for the home team getting even greater.
Just looking at the last eight home wins, seven of those have been by at least five points with an aggregate margin of victory of 48 points meaning an average winning margin of six.
There have been some great moments, some classic matches and some hefty momentum swings, but ultimately the majority of recent Ryder Cups have been landslide victories for the hosts.
So Rory McIlroy was right when he said that winning an away Ryder Cup is one of the hardest things in the sport – the stats show it’s one of the toughest tasks in any sport.
Latest Ryder Cup home winsSwipe to scroll horizontally
Year
Venue
Result
Winning Margin
2023
Marco Simone
Europe 16.5-11.5 USA
5pts
2021
Whistling Straits
USA 19-9 Europe
10pts
2018
Le Golf National
Europe 17.5-10.5 USA
7pts
2016
Hazeltine
USA 17-11 Europe
6pts
2014
Gleneagles
Europe 16.5-11.5 USA
5pts
2010
Celtic Manor
Europe 14.5-13.5 USA
1pt
2008
Valhalla
USA 16.5-11.5 Europe
5pts
2006
The K Club
Europe 18.5-9.5 USA
9pts
