Business of Sport Greenbacks on the greens

The biennial matches between the United States and Great Britain and Ireland had become so one-sided that there were question marks over its future.

Paul McGinley will lead Europe in the Ryder Cup. Picture: Getty

When Des Smyth played in his first Ryder Cup in the US in 1979, there were no Concorde flights for the first ever European team, no cashmere sweaters, and no gifts waiting for him in his bedroom every night.

The biennial matches between the United States and Great Britain and Ireland had become so one-sided that there were question marks over its future. In 1977, Tom Weiskopf qualified for the US team, but ...