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Mark James

England · born , Manchester, England

8.5Ryder Cup points from 24 matches

Summary

  • Ryder Cup 7 Cups · 8-15-1 · 8.5 points (35.4%)
  • Singles 2-4-1 · Foursomes 1-7-0 · Four-ball 5-4-0
  • Ryder Cup captain 1999
  • Open top 10s 1976 (T5), 1979 (4), 1981 (T3), 1994 (T4), 1995 (T8)
  • Amateur runner-up 1975 The Amateur

Near misses

  1. 1975 The Amateur Championship Royal Liverpool Golf Club · runner-up to Vinny Giles · 8 & 7
  2. 1976 The Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club · finished T5 · 288 (E)
  3. 1979 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished 4 · 287 (+3)
  4. 1981 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T3 · 283 (+3)
  5. 1994 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T4 · 273 (-7)
  6. 1995 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T8 · 285 (-3)

Ryder Cup

7 Cups, 24 matches: 8 won, 15 lost, 1 halved, 8.5 points. Foursomes 1-7-0, four-ball 5-4-0, singles 2-4-1.

  1. 1977 Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club GB&I · USA won 12.5–7.5 · 0-3-0, 0 points
  2. 1979 The Greenbrier (Greenbrier Course) Europe · USA won 17–11 · 0-1-1, 0.5 points · automatic
  3. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club Europe · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 2-3-0, 2 points · committee pick
  4. 1989 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · tied 14–14 · 3-1-0, 3 points · automatic
  5. 1991 The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 2-3-0, 2 points · captain's pick
  6. 1993 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · USA won 15–13 · 0-3-0, 0 points · automatic
  7. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) Europe · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point · automatic
  8. 1999 Captain Europe · lost 13.5–14.5

Rivals

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Sandy Lyle's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1979 Ryder Cup Ken Brown and Mark James were fined by the British PGA for misconduct (team uniform, missed meetings, behaviour at the dinner), and Brown was banned from international play for 12 months.

Results by championship

    Best day

    1989 Ryder Cup

    The Belfry (Brabazon Course) · tied 14–14 · 3-1-0, 3 points

    Chosen by rule: his best Ryder Cup by points. Year page: 1989.

    Career line, 1975–1995

    The Open
    1976 The Open: finished T51979 The Open: finished 41981 The Open: finished T31994 The Open: finished T41995 The Open: finished T8
    Ryder Cup
    1977 Ryder Cup (GB&I): 0-3-01979 Ryder Cup (Europe): 0-1-11981 Ryder Cup (Europe): 2-3-01989 Ryder Cup (Europe): 3-1-01991 Ryder Cup (Europe): 2-3-01993 Ryder Cup (Europe): 0-3-01995 Ryder Cup (Europe): 1-1-0
    The Amateur
    1975 The Amateur: runner-up
    19751980198519901995

    13 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, GB / Europe

    Mark James was born in 1953 in Manchester, England. James was runner-up at the 1975 The Amateur. James played in 7 Ryder Cups for GB&I and Europe (1977, 1979, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995), winning 8, losing 15 and halving 1 of 24 matches for 8.5 points, and captained the side in 1999.

    See Mark James in our rooms: The Open and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1975 The Amateur Championship Royal Liverpool Golf Club · runner-up to Vinny Giles · 8 & 7
    2. 1976 The Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club · finished T5 · 288 (E)
    3. 1979 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished 4 · 287 (+3)
    4. 1981 The Open Royal St George's Golf Club · finished T3 · 283 (+3)
    5. 1994 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T4 · 273 (-7)
    6. 1995 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T8 · 285 (-3)

    Ryder Cup

    James played 7 Ryder Cups for GB&I and Europe: 24 matches, 8 won, 15 lost, 1 halved, 8.5 points (35.4% of those available). By format: foursomes 1-7-0, four-ball 5-4-0, singles 2-4-1 (won-lost-halved). Vice-captain: 1997*; 2002 (disputed).

    1. 1977 Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club GB&I · USA won 12.5–7.5 · 0-3-0, 0 points
    2. 1979 The Greenbrier (Greenbrier Course) Europe · USA won 17–11 · 0-1-1, 0.5 points · automatic
    3. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club Europe · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 2-3-0, 2 points · committee pick
    4. 1989 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · tied 14–14 · 3-1-0, 3 points · automatic
    5. 1991 The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 2-3-0, 2 points · captain's pick
    6. 1993 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · USA won 15–13 · 0-3-0, 0 points · automatic
    7. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) Europe · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point · automatic
    8. 1999 Captain Europe · lost 13.5–14.5

    Partners, with matches played together: Sandy Lyle (4), Howard Clark (4), Steven Richardson (3), Ken Brown (2), Tommy Horton (1), Bernhard Langer (1), Sam Torrance (1), Costantino Rocca (1).

    Sources

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. WP: List of European Ryder Cup golfers
    2. Golf Compendium
    3. Wikipedia: Mark James (golfer)
    4. R&A 1976
    5. R&A 1979
    6. R&A 1981
    7. R&A 1994
    8. R&A 1995
    9. GC: 1977 ryder cup
    10. WP 1977
    11. GC: 1979 ryder cup
    12. Wikipedia: 1979 Ryder Cup
    13. GC: 1981 ryder cup
    14. Wikipedia: 1981 Ryder Cup
    15. GC: 1989 ryder cup
    16. Wikipedia: 1989 Ryder Cup
    17. GC: 1991 ryder cup
    18. Wikipedia: 1991 Ryder Cup
    19. GC: 1993 ryder cup
    20. Wikipedia: 1993 Ryder Cup
    21. GC: 1995 ryder cup
    22. Deseret News 1995
    23. Wikipedia: 1995 Ryder Cup
    24. Golf Channel
    25. WP Ryder Cup
    26. Wikipedia: The Amateur Championship
    27. golfbible.co.uk: amateur championship
    28. golfcompendium.com: british amateur championship winners