1987 Ryder Cup: Europe wins at Muirfield Village Golf Club
Europe won the 1987 Ryder Cup 15–13 over the USA at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, United States.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1987 in the Ryder Cup room, or every year on the Ryder Cup results list.
- Dates
- September 25, 1987 to September 27, 1987
- Course
- Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio, United States
- Edition
- 27th Ryder Cup
- Teams
- USA v Europe
- Result
- USA 13, Europe 15 · Europe won by 2 points
- Points to win
- 14½ (holder retains with 14)
- USA captain
- Jack Nicklaus
- Europe captain
- Tony Jacklin
- Holder after
- Europe
- Winning point
- Seve Ballesteros (Europe) · Ballesteros d. Curtis Strange 2 & 1
- Retaining point
- same match as clinch (Ballesteros took Europe past 14 and 14.5)
Session 1: foursomes, September 25, 1987 (AM)
Session: USA 2, Europe 2 · running score USA 2, Europe 2.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curtis Strange and Tom Kite | Sam Torrance and Howard Clark | 4 & 2 | USA |
| 2 | Hal Sutton and Dan Pohl | Ken Brown and Bernhard Langer | 2 & 1 | USA |
| 3 | Lanny Wadkins and Larry Mize | Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam | 2 up | Europe |
| 4 | Larry Nelson and Payne Stewart | Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal | 1 up | Europe |
Session 2: four-ball, September 25, 1987 (PM)
Session: USA 0, Europe 4 · running score USA 2, Europe 6.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Crenshaw and Scott Simpson | Gordon Brand Jnr and José Rivero | 3 & 2 | Europe |
| 2 | Andy Bean and Mark Calcavecchia | Sandy Lyle and Bernhard Langer | 1 up | Europe |
| 3 | Hal Sutton and Dan Pohl | Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam | 2 & 1 | Europe |
| 4 | Curtis Strange and Tom Kite | Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal | 2 & 1 | Europe |
Session 3: foursomes, September 26, 1987 (AM)
Session: USA 1½, Europe 2½ · running score USA 3½, Europe 8½.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curtis Strange and Tom Kite | José Rivero and Gordon Brand Jnr | 3 & 1 | USA |
| 2 | Hal Sutton and Larry Mize | Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam | halved | halved |
| 3 | Lanny Wadkins and Larry Nelson | Sandy Lyle and Bernhard Langer | 2 & 1 | Europe |
| 4 | Ben Crenshaw and Payne Stewart | Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal | 1 up | Europe |
Session 4: four-ball, September 26, 1987 (PM)
Session: USA 2, Europe 2 · running score USA 5½, Europe 10½.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curtis Strange and Tom Kite | Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam | 5 & 4 | Europe |
| 2 | Andy Bean and Payne Stewart | Eamonn Darcy and Gordon Brand Jnr | 3 & 2 | USA |
| 3 | Hal Sutton and Larry Mize | Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal | 2 & 1 | USA |
| 4 | Lanny Wadkins and Larry Nelson | Sandy Lyle and Bernhard Langer | 1 up | Europe |
Session 5: singles, September 27, 1987 (all day)
Session: USA 7½, Europe 4½ · running score USA 13, Europe 15.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Bean | Ian Woosnam | 1 up | USA |
| 2 | Dan Pohl | Howard Clark | 1 up | Europe |
| 3 | Larry Mize | Sam Torrance | halved | halved |
| 4 | Mark Calcavecchia | Nick Faldo | 1 up | USA |
| 5 | Payne Stewart | José María Olazábal | 2 up | USA |
| 6 | Scott Simpson | José Rivero | 2 & 1 | USA |
| 7 | Tom Kite | Sandy Lyle | 3 & 2 | USA |
| 8 | Ben Crenshaw | Eamonn Darcy | 1 up | Europe |
| 9 | Larry Nelson | Bernhard Langer | halved | halved |
| 10 | Curtis Strange | Seve Ballesteros | 2 & 1 | Europe |
| 11 | Lanny Wadkins | Ken Brown | 3 & 2 | USA |
| 12 | Hal Sutton | Gordon Brand Jnr | halved | halved |
USA team, 1987
| Player | Nationality | Rookie | W-L-H | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Bean | United States | 2-1-0 | 2 | |
| Mark Calcavecchia | United States | yes | 1-1-0 | 1 |
| Ben Crenshaw | United States | 0-3-0 | 0 | |
| Tom Kite | United States | 3-2-0 | 3 | |
| Larry Mize | United States | yes | 1-1-2 | 2 |
| Larry Nelson | United States | 0-3-1 | ½ | |
| Dan Pohl | United States | yes | 1-2-0 | 1 |
| Scott Simpson | United States | yes | 1-1-0 | 1 |
| Payne Stewart | United States | yes | 2-2-0 | 2 |
| Curtis Strange | United States | 2-3-0 | 2 | |
| Hal Sutton | United States | 2-1-2 | 3 | |
| Lanny Wadkins | United States | 1-3-0 | 1 |
Europe team, 1987
| Player | Nationality | Rookie | W-L-H | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seve Ballesteros | Spain | 4-1-0 | 4 | |
| Ken Brown | Scotland | 0-2-0 | 0 | |
| Howard Clark | England | 1-1-0 | 1 | |
| Eamonn Darcy | Ireland | 1-1-0 | 1 | |
| Nick Faldo | England | 3-1-1 | 3½ | |
| Gordon Brand Jnr | Scotland | yes | 1-2-1 | 1½ |
| Bernhard Langer | Germany | 3-1-1 | 3½ | |
| Sandy Lyle | Scotland | 3-1-0 | 3 | |
| José María Olazábal | Spain | yes | 3-2-0 | 3 |
| José Rivero | Spain | 1-2-0 | 1 | |
| Sam Torrance | Scotland | 0-1-1 | ½ | |
| Ian Woosnam | Wales | 3-1-1 | 3½ |
What happened at the 1987 Ryder Cup
Europe won on U.S. soil for the first time, ending a 13–0 U.S. home record going back 60 years. Ballesteros's 2 & 1 win over Strange took Europe to 14.5.
Ben Crenshaw broke his putter after the 6th hole of his singles and putted with a 1-iron (and other clubs) the rest of the way. He lost 1 up to Eamonn Darcy, who holed the putt on 18.
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.