Ryder Cup captain’s picks: A history of who has earned wild-card selections

11 months ago

Captain's picks (or wild-card picks) haven't always been a part of the Ryder Cup. However, they've become an integral part of the biennial competition pitting 12-man teams representing the United States against Europe in a 27 matches over three days.

The Europeans were the first side to create captain's picks, doing so in 1979, the first year that continental Europe became eligible to join what was previous a team of golfers only from Great Britain and Ireland (like the Walker Cup, the amateur equivalent). They've been doing it ever since, with the exception of 1983, adding two or three players to their team at the captain's discretion.

The United States began employing captain's picks in 1989, and they've done so in every Ryder Cup since, adding anywhere from two to four players to their team.

Some captain's picks have proven instrumental in helping their team win, or at least remain competitive. Others have been total flops. Others still have seen little action in the matches.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

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Ryder Cup captain's pick history, records and performance

YEAR	TEAM	CAPTAIN	PLAYER	WIN	LOSS	DRAW	POINTS
1979	Europe	John Jacobs	Peter Oosterhuis	2	2	0	2
1979	Europe	John Jacobs	Des Smyth	0	2	0	0
1981	Europe	John Jacobs	Mark James	2	3	0	2
1981	Europe	John Jacobs	Peter Oosterhuis	0	3	0	0
1985	Europe	Tony Jacklin	Jose Rivero	1	1	0	1
1985	Europe	Tony Jacklin	Ken Brown	1	2	0	1
1985	Europe	Tony Jacklin	Nick Faldo	0	2	0	0
1987	Europe	Tony Jacklin	Sandy Lyle	3	1	0	3
1987	Europe	Tony Jacklin	Jose Maria Olzabal	3	2	0	3
1987	Europe	Tony Jacklin	Ken Brown	0	2	0	0
1989	Europe	Tony Jacklin	Howard Clark	2	2	0	2
1989	Europe	Tony Jacklin	Christy O'Connor Jr	1	1	0	1
1989	Europe	Tony Jacklin	Bernhard Langer	0	3	0	0
1989	U.S.A.	Raymond Floyd	Lanny Wadkins	2	2	0	2
1989	U.S.A.	Raymond Floyd	Tom Watson	1	1	1	1.5
1991	Europe	Bernard Gallacher	Jose Maria Olzabal	3	1	1	3.5
1991	Europe	Bernard Gallacher	Mark James	2	3	0	2
1991	Europe	Bernard Gallacher	Nick Faldo	1	3	0	1
1991	U.S.A.	Dave Stockton	Ray Floyd	2	2	0	2
1991	U.S.A.	Dave Stockton	Chip Beck	1	2	0	1
1993	Europe	Bernard Gallacher	Seve Ballesteros	2	2	0	2
1993	Europe	Bernard Gallacher	Jose Maria Olzabal	2	3	0	2
1993	Europe	Bernard Gallacher	Joakim Haeggman	1	1	0	1
1993	U.S.A.	Tom Watson	Ray Floyd	3	1	0	3
1993	U.S.A.	Tom Watson	Lanny Wadkins	2	1	1	2.5
1995	U.S.A.	Lanny Wadkins	Fred Couples	2	1	1	2.5
1995	U.S.A.	Lanny Wadkins	Curtis Strange	0	3	0	0
1995	Europe	Bernard Gallacher	Nick Faldo	2	2	0	2
1995	Europe	Bernard Gallacher	Ian Woosnam	1	1	1	1.5
1997	U.S.A.	Tom Kite	Lee Janzen	2	1	0	2
1997	U.S.A.	Tom Kite	Fred Couples	2	2	0	2
1997	Europe	Seve Ballesteros	Jesper Parnevik	1	1	2	2
1997	Europe	Seve Ballesteros	Nick Faldo	2	3	0	2
1999	U.S.A.	Ben Crenshaw	Tom Lehman	2	1	0	2
1999	U.S.A.	Ben Crenshaw	Steve Pate	2	1	0	2
1999	Europe	Mark James	Jesper Parnevik	3	1	1	3.5
1999	Europe	Mark James	Andrew Coltart	0	1	0	0
2002	U.S.A.	Curtis Strange	Scott Verplank	2	1	0	2
2002	U.S.A.	Curtis Strange	Paul Azinger	0	1	1	0.5
2002	Europe	Sam Torrance	Sergio Garcia	3	2	0	3
2002	Europe	Sam Torrance	Jesper Parnevik	0	1	1	0.5
2004	U.S.A.	Hal Sutton	Stewart Cink	1	2	1	1.5
2004	U.S.A.	Hal Sutton	Jay Haas	1	2	1	1.5
2004	Europe	Bernhard Langer	Colin Montgomerie	3	1	0	3
2004	Europe	Bernhard Langer	Luke Donald	2	1	1	2.5
2006	U.S.A.	Tom Lehman	Scott Verplank	2	0	0	2
2006	U.S.A.	Tom Lehman	Stewart Cink	1	1	3	2.5
2006	Europe	Ian Woosnam	Darren Clarke	3	0	0	3
2006	Europe	Ian Woosnam	Lee Westwood	3	0	2	4
2008	U.S.A.	Paul Azinger	Chad Campbell	2	1	0	2
2008	U.S.A.	Paul Azinger	J.B. Holmes	2	0	1	2.5
2008	U.S.A.	Paul Azinger	Hunter Mahan	2	0	3	3.5
2008	U.S.A.	Paul Azinger	Steve Stricker	0	2	1	0.5
2008	Europe	Nick Faldo	Ian Poulter	4	1	0	4
2008	Europe	Nick Faldo	Paul Casey	0	1	2	1
2010	U.S.A.	Corey Pavin	Tiger Woods	3	1	0	3
2010	U.S.A.	Corey Pavin	Zach Johnson	2	1	0	2
2010	U.S.A.	Corey Pavin	Stewart Cink	1	0	3	2.5
2010	U.S.A.	Corey Pavin	Rickie Fowler	0	1	2	1
2010	Europe	Colin Montgomerie	Luke Donald	3	1	0	3
2010	Europe	Colin Montgomerie	Padraig Harrington	2	2	0	2
2010	Europe	Colin Montgomerie	Edoardo Molinari	0	1	2	1
2012	U.S.A.	Davis Love III	Steve Stricker	0	4	0	0
2012	U.S.A.	Davis Love III	Jim Furyk	1	2	0	1
2012	U.S.A.	Davis Love III	Brandt Snedeker	1	2	0	1
2012	U.S.A.	Davis Love III	Dustin Johnson	3	0	0	3
2012	Europe	Jose Maria Olazabal	Nicolas Colaserts	1	3	0	1
2012	Europe	Jose Maria Olazabal	Ian Poulter	4	0	0	4
2014	U.S.A.	Tom Watson	Keegan Bradley	1	2	0	1
2014	U.S.A.	Tom Watson	Webb Simpson	3	0	1	3.5
2014	U.S.A.	Tom Watson	Hunter Mahan	1	2	1	1.5
2014	Europe	Paul McGinley	Stephen Gallacher	0	2	0	0
2014	Europe	Paul McGinley	Ian Poulter	0	1	2	1
2014	Europe	Paul McGinley	Lee Westwood	2	2	0	2