1983 Ryder Cup: USA wins at PGA National Golf Club
USA won the 1983 Ryder Cup 14½–13½ over Europe at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1983 in the Ryder Cup room, or every year on the Ryder Cup results list.
- Dates
- October 14, 1983 to October 16, 1983
- Course
- PGA National Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States
- Edition
- 25th Ryder Cup
- Teams
- USA v Europe
- Result
- USA 14½, Europe 13½ · USA won by 1 point
- Points to win
- 14½ (holder retains with 14)
- USA captain
- Jack Nicklaus
- Europe captain
- Tony Jacklin
- Holder after
- USA
- Winning point
- Tom Watson (USA) · Watson d. Bernard Gallacher 2 & 1
Session 1: foursomes, October 14, 1983 (AM)
Session: USA 2, Europe 2 · running score USA 2, Europe 2.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw | Bernard Gallacher and Sandy Lyle | 5 & 4 | USA |
| 2 | Lanny Wadkins and Craig Stadler | Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer | 4 & 2 | Europe |
| 3 | Raymond Floyd and Bob Gilder | José María Cañizares and Sam Torrance | 4 & 3 | Europe |
| 4 | Tom Kite and Calvin Peete | Seve Ballesteros and Paul Way | 2 & 1 | USA |
Session 2: four-ball, October 14, 1983 (PM)
Session: USA 1½, Europe 2½ · running score USA 3½, Europe 4½.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gil Morgan and Fuzzy Zoeller | Brian Waites and Ken Brown | 2 & 1 | Europe |
| 2 | Tom Watson and Jay Haas | Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer | 2 & 1 | USA |
| 3 | Raymond Floyd and Curtis Strange | Seve Ballesteros and Paul Way | 1 up | Europe |
| 4 | Ben Crenshaw and Calvin Peete | Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam | halved | halved |
Session 3: four-ball, October 15, 1983 (AM)
Session: USA 2½, Europe 1½ · running score USA 6, Europe 6.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lanny Wadkins and Craig Stadler | Brian Waites and Ken Brown | 1 up | USA |
| 2 | Ben Crenshaw and Calvin Peete | Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer | 4 & 2 | Europe |
| 3 | Gil Morgan and Jay Haas | Seve Ballesteros and Paul Way | halved | halved |
| 4 | Tom Watson and Bob Gilder | Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam | 5 & 4 | USA |
Session 4: foursomes, October 15, 1983 (PM)
Session: USA 2, Europe 2 · running score USA 8, Europe 8.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Kite and Raymond Floyd | Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer | 3 & 2 | Europe |
| 2 | Gil Morgan and Lanny Wadkins | Sam Torrance and José María Cañizares | 7 & 5 | USA |
| 3 | Tom Watson and Bob Gilder | Seve Ballesteros and Paul Way | 2 & 1 | Europe |
| 4 | Jay Haas and Curtis Strange | Brian Waites and Ken Brown | 3 & 2 | USA |
Session 5: singles, October 16, 1983 (all day)
Session: USA 6½, Europe 5½ · running score USA 14½, Europe 13½.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fuzzy Zoeller | Seve Ballesteros | halved | halved |
| 2 | Jay Haas | Nick Faldo | 2 & 1 | Europe |
| 3 | Gil Morgan | Bernhard Langer | 2 up | Europe |
| 4 | Bob Gilder | Gordon J. Brand | 2 up | USA |
| 5 | Ben Crenshaw | Sandy Lyle | 3 & 1 | USA |
| 6 | Calvin Peete | Brian Waites | 1 up | USA |
| 7 | Curtis Strange | Paul Way | 2 & 1 | Europe |
| 8 | Tom Kite | Sam Torrance | halved | halved |
| 9 | Craig Stadler | Ian Woosnam | 3 & 2 | USA |
| 10 | Lanny Wadkins | José María Cañizares | halved | halved |
| 11 | Raymond Floyd | Ken Brown | 4 & 3 | Europe |
| 12 | Tom Watson | Bernard Gallacher | 2 & 1 | USA |
USA team, 1983
| Player | Nationality | Rookie | W-L-H | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Crenshaw | United States | 2-1-1 | 2½ | |
| Raymond Floyd | United States | 0-4-0 | 0 | |
| Bob Gilder | United States | yes | 2-2-0 | 2 |
| Jay Haas | United States | yes | 2-1-1 | 2½ |
| Tom Kite | United States | 1-1-1 | 1½ | |
| Gil Morgan | United States | 1-2-1 | 1½ | |
| Calvin Peete | United States | yes | 2-1-1 | 2½ |
| Craig Stadler | United States | yes | 2-1-0 | 2 |
| Curtis Strange | United States | yes | 1-2-0 | 1 |
| Lanny Wadkins | United States | 2-1-1 | 2½ | |
| Tom Watson | United States | 4-1-0 | 4 | |
| Fuzzy Zoeller | United States | 0-1-1 | ½ |
Europe team, 1983
| Player | Nationality | Rookie | W-L-H | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seve Ballesteros | Spain | 2-1-2 | 3 | |
| Gordon J. Brand | England | yes | 0-1-0 | 0 |
| Ken Brown | Scotland | 2-2-0 | 2 | |
| José María Cañizares | Spain | 1-1-1 | 1½ | |
| Nick Faldo | England | 4-1-0 | 4 | |
| Bernard Gallacher | Scotland | 0-2-0 | 0 | |
| Bernhard Langer | Germany | 4-1-0 | 4 | |
| Sandy Lyle | Scotland | 0-2-0 | 0 | |
| Sam Torrance | Scotland | 1-2-2 | 2 | |
| Brian Waites | England | yes | 1-3-0 | 1 |
| Paul Way | England | yes | 3-1-1 | 3½ |
| Ian Woosnam | Wales | yes | 0-2-1 | ½ |
What happened at the 1983 Ryder Cup
Ballesteros hit a 3-wood from a fairway bunker about 240 yards out on 18 to halve his match with Fuzzy Zoeller; Nicklaus called it the finest shot he had ever seen.
Lanny Wadkins hit a wedge to about 3 feet on the par-5 18th for the birdie that halved his match with Cañizares; he is generally credited with saving the U.S. win.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's Ryder Cup data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: ryder-cup.csv (the Ryder Cup room's record), with every match and team sheet from GNN's Ryder Cup data.