The 36th Ryder Cup Matches were held 22–24 September 2006 in Ireland at the Palmer Course of the K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, west of Dublin. It was the first time the event was played in Ireland.

36th Ryder Cup Matches
Logo
Dates22–24 September 2006
VenueThe K Club
LocationCounty Kildare, Ireland
Captains
Europe 1812 912 United States
Europe wins the Ryder Cup
← 2004
2008 →
K Club is located in Ireland
K Club
K Club

Europe won by 1812 to 912 points, equalling their record winning margin of two years earlier for their third consecutive win, a first for Europe.[1] Swedish rookie Henrik Stenson made the winning putt, just moments after Luke Donald sank a putt to ensure Europe retained the trophy.[2]

Course

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The K Club has two Arnold Palmer-designed championship courses and the 36th Ryder Cup was held on the Palmer Course (also known as the North or Old Course). The course is a parkland course located on the banks of the River Liffey, threaded through mature woodlands on the Straffan country estate.

Television

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Domestically, Sky Sports provided live coverage of all sessions.

In the United States, coverage of the first day was recorded live, but presented on tape-delay by USA Network. Bill Macatee hosted from the 18th tower. On Saturday, NBC Sports presented coverage on tape, but recorded live. NBC then aired the singles live on Sunday morning. Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller hosted from the 18th tower, Gary Koch and Bob Murphy called holes, while on-course reporters were Mark Rolfing, Roger Maltbie, and Dottie Pepper. To provide a European perspective, NBC used former European team player Nick Faldo as a guest analyst on the Saturday afternoon session. Faldo had worked in the same role for NBC at the 2002 Ryder Cup, and at the time of the 2006 edition was in between jobs, having worked as an analyst for ABC Sports from 2004 to 2006, but having signed with CBS Sports for 2007 and beyond.

Format

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The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format used in 2004 and 2006 was as follows:

  • Day 1 (Friday) – 4 fourball (better ball) matches in a morning session and 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches in an afternoon session
  • Day 2 (Saturday) – 4 fourball matches in a morning session and 4 foursome matches in an afternoon session
  • Day 3 (Sunday) – 12 singles matches

With a total of 28 points, 1412 points were required to win the Cup, and 14 points were required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.

Team qualification and selection

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Europe

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The European team consisted of:

  • The top five players on the Ryder Cup World Points List
  • The five players, not qualified above, on the Ryder Cup European Points List
    • Money earned in official European Tour events from 1 September 2005 to 3 September 2006
  • Two captain's picks

United States

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The United States team consisted of:

  • The top ten players on the Ryder Cup Points List
    • Total points earned in PGA Tour events from 22 August 2004 to 20 August 2006. Points were awarded for top-10 finishes in these events based on the following table:
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
2004 Regular events 75 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5
2005 Regular events 75 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5
2005 Majors 450 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25
2006 Regular events 375 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20
2006 Majors 675 360 320 280 240 200 160 120 80 40
  • Two captain's picks

Teams

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The opening ceremony of the 2006 Ryder Cup
  Team Europe
Name Age Residence Points rank
(World)
Points rank
(European)
World
ranking
Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
  Ian Woosnam 48 Llanymynech, partly in England and partly in Wales
and Jersey
Non-playing captain
  Henrik Stenson 30 Dubai, UAE 1 3 11 0 Rookie
  Luke Donald 28 High Wycombe, England
and Chicago, Illinois, USA
2 8 9 1 4 2–1–1 62.50
  Sergio García 26 Borriol, Spain 3 4 8 3 15 10–3–2 73.33
  David Howell 31 Weybridge, England 4 2 13 1 2 1–1–0 50.00
  Colin Montgomerie 43 Oxshott, England 5 1 14 7 32 19–8–5 67.19
  Paul Casey 29 Weybridge, England
and Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
7 5 17 1 2 1–1–0 50.00
  Robert Karlsson 37 Monaco 10 6 36 0 Rookie
  Pádraig Harrington 35 Dublin, Ireland 8 7 18 3 12 7–4–1 62.50
  Paul McGinley 39 Sunningdale, England 17 9 53 2 6 2–1–3 58.33
  José María Olazábal 40 Fuenterrabia, Spain 6 10 19 6 28 15–8–5 62.50
  Darren Clarke 38 Chobham, England 13 30 24 4 17 7–7–3 50.00
  Lee Westwood 33 Worksop, England 14 21 51 4 20 11–8–1 57.50

Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2006 Ryder Cup.

As vice-captains, European captain Ian Woosnam selected Peter Baker and Des Smyth, to assist him during the tournament.

  Team USA
Name Age Residence Points
rank
World
ranking
Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Tom Lehman 47 Austin, Minnesota Non-playing captain
Tiger Woods 30 Windermere, Florida 1 1 4 20 7–11–2 40.00
Phil Mickelson 36 Rancho Santa Fe, California 2 2 5 20 9–8–3 52.50
Jim Furyk 36 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 3 3 4 15 4–9–2 33.33
Chad Campbell 32 Lewisville, Texas 4 22 1 3 1–2–0 33.33
David Toms 39 Monroe, Louisiana 5 16 2 8 4–3–1 56.25
Chris DiMarco 38 Orlando, Florida 6 15 1 4 2–1–1 62.50
Vaughn Taylor 30 Augusta, Georgia 7 60 0 Rookie
J. J. Henry 31 Fairfield, Connecticut 8 64 0 Rookie
Zach Johnson 30 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 9 42 0 Rookie
Brett Wetterich 33 Cincinnati, Ohio 10 68 0 Rookie
Stewart Cink 33 Huntsville, Alabama 12 23 2 7 2–4–1 35.71
Scott Verplank 42 Dallas, Texas 20 37 1 3 2–1–0 66.67

Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2006 Ryder Cup.

As vice-captains, United States captain Tom Lehman selected Corey Pavin and Loren Roberts, to assist him during the tournament.

Friday's matches

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Morning four-ball

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  Results  
Harrington/Montgomerie   1 up Woods/Furyk
Casey/Karlsson halved Cink/Henry
García/Olazábal   3 & 2 Toms/Wetterich
Clarke/Westwood   1 up Mickelson/DiMarco
212 Session 112
212 Overall 112

Afternoon foursomes

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  Results  
Harrington/McGinley halved Campbell/Johnson
Howell/Stenson halved Cink/Toms
Westwood/Montgomerie halved Mickelson/DiMarco
Donald/García   2 up Woods/Furyk
212 Session 112
5 Overall 3

Saturday's matches

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Morning four-ball

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  Results  
Casey/Karlsson halved Cink/Henry
García/Olazábal   3 & 2 Mickelson/DiMarco
Clarke/Westwood   3 & 2 Woods/Furyk
Stenson/Harrington   2 & 1 Verplank/Johnson
212 Session 112
712 Overall 412

Afternoon foursomes

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  Results  
García/Donald   2 & 1 Mickelson/Toms
Montgomerie/Westwood halved Campbell/Taylor
Casey/Howell   5 & 4 Cink/Johnson
Harrington/McGinley   3 & 2 Furyk/Woods
212 Session 112
10 Overall 6

Sunday's singles matches

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  Results  
Colin Montgomerie   1 up David Toms
Sergio García   4 & 3 Stewart Cink
Paul Casey   2 & 1 Jim Furyk
Robert Karlsson   3 & 2 Tiger Woods
Luke Donald   2 & 1 Chad Campbell
Paul McGinley halved[3] J. J. Henry
Darren Clarke   3 & 2 Zach Johnson
Henrik Stenson   4 & 3 Vaughn Taylor
David Howell   5 & 4 Brett Wetterich
José María Olazábal   2 & 1 Phil Mickelson
Lee Westwood   2 up Chris DiMarco
Pádraig Harrington   4 & 3 Scott Verplank
812 Session 312
1812 Overall 912

Individual player records

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Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.

Source:[4]

Europe

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Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Paul Casey 3 2–0–2 1–0–0 1–0–0 0–0–2
Darren Clarke 3 3–0–0 1–0–0 0–0–0 2–0–0
Luke Donald 3 3–0–0 1–0–0 2–0–0 0–0–0
Sergio García 4 4–1–0 0–1–0 2–0–0 2–0–0
Pádraig Harrington 0.5 0–4–1 0–1–0 0–1–1 0–2–0
David Howell 2.5 2–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–1 0–0–0
Robert Karlsson 1 0–1–2 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–0–2
Paul McGinley 1 0–1–2 0–0–1 0–1–1 0–0–0
Colin Montgomerie 2 1–1–2 1–0–0 0–0–2 0–1–0
José María Olazábal 3 3–0–0 1–0–0 0–0–0 2–0–0
Henrik Stenson 1.5 1–1–1 1–0–0 0–0–1 0–1–0
Lee Westwood 4 3–0–2 1–0–0 0–0–2 2–0–0

United States

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Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Chad Campbell 1 0–1–2 0–1–0 0–0–2 0–0–0
Stewart Cink 2.5 1–1–3 1–0–0 0–1–1 0–0–2
Chris DiMarco 0.5 0–3–1 0–1–0 0–0–1 0–2–0
Jim Furyk 2 2–3–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 1–1–0
J. J. Henry 1.5 0–0–3 0–0–1 0–0–0 0–0–2
Zach Johnson 1.5 1–2–1 0–1–0 0–1–1 1–0–0
Phil Mickelson 0.5 0–4–1 0–1–0 0–1–1 0–2–0
Vaughn Taylor 0.5 0–1–1 0–1–0 0–0–1 0–0–0
David Toms 0.5 0–3–1 0–1–0 0–1–1 0–1–0
Scott Verplank 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–0–0
Brett Wetterich 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0
Tiger Woods 3 3–2–0 1–0–0 1–1–0 1–1–0

References

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  1. ^ The sequence from 1985-1987-1989 included a tie in 1989, retaining the trophy for Europe.
  2. ^ If the 'dormie' situation is taken into account, then half points can be 'virtually' added from matches still in play where Europe were guaranteed half a point. From this viewpoint, Europe's retention of the trophy was sealed when David Howell won over Brett Wetterich, and the win was certain when Donald beat Chad Campbell. However, because players in a 'dormie' situation can still be disqualified and lose their match, the scoreboard and the records of the tournament only take account of concluded matches, and so the records credit Donald with ensuring that Europe retained the trophy and Stenson with guaranteeing the victory.
  3. ^ After Europe had already won, McGinley conceded a 25-foot birdie putt to Henry on the 18th hole, halving their match. If Henry had putted and missed, Europe's final total would have been a record victory over the Americans. McGinley conceded the putt because an almost-naked spectator ran across the green and jumped into the lake as Henry was about to putt.[1][dead link] This was reported on radio stations and in newspapers but not shown on television. McGinley's action has been described as an example of the "sportsmanship that has come to signify the Ryder Cup." [2] Archived 28 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "2014 Ryder Cup Media and Players' Guide". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
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53°18′25″N 6°37′30″W / 53.307°N 6.625°W / 53.307; -6.625