1989 Ryder Cup: USA and Europe tie 14–14 at The Belfry (Brabazon Course)
The 1989 Ryder Cup at The Belfry (Brabazon Course) in Wishaw, Warwickshire, England was tied 14–14 between the USA and Europe; Europe kept the Cup as holder.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1989 in the Ryder Cup room, or every year on the Ryder Cup results list.
- Dates
- 22 September 1989 to 24 September 1989
- Course
- The Belfry (Brabazon Course), Wishaw, Warwickshire, England
- Edition
- 28th Ryder Cup
- Teams
- USA v Europe
- Result
- USA 14, Europe 14
- Points to win
- 14½ (holder retains with 14)
- USA captain
- Raymond Floyd
- Europe captain
- Tony Jacklin
- Holder after
- Europe
- Retaining point
- José María Cañizares d. Ken Green 1 up (Europe to 14, retaining)
Session 1: foursomes, 22 September 1989 (AM)
Session: USA 3, Europe 1 · running score USA 3, Europe 1.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Kite and Curtis Strange | Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam | halved | halved |
| 2 | Lanny Wadkins and Payne Stewart | Howard Clark and Mark James | 1 up | USA |
| 3 | Tom Watson and Chip Beck | Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal | halved | halved |
| 4 | Mark Calcavecchia and Ken Green | Bernhard Langer and Ronan Rafferty | 2 & 1 | USA |
Session 2: four-ball, 22 September 1989 (PM)
Session: USA 0, Europe 4 · running score USA 3, Europe 5.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curtis Strange and Paul Azinger | Sam Torrance and Gordon Brand Jnr | 1 up | Europe |
| 2 | Fred Couples and Lanny Wadkins | Howard Clark and Mark James | 3 & 2 | Europe |
| 3 | Mark Calcavecchia and Mark McCumber | Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam | 2 up | Europe |
| 4 | Tom Watson and Mark O'Meara | Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal | 6 & 5 | Europe |
Session 3: foursomes, 23 September 1989 (AM)
Session: USA 2, Europe 2 · running score USA 5, Europe 7.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lanny Wadkins and Payne Stewart | Ian Woosnam and Nick Faldo | 3 & 2 | Europe |
| 2 | Chip Beck and Paul Azinger | Gordon Brand Jnr and Sam Torrance | 4 & 3 | USA |
| 3 | Mark Calcavecchia and Ken Green | Christy O'Connor Jnr and Ronan Rafferty | 3 & 2 | USA |
| 4 | Tom Kite and Curtis Strange | Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal | 1 up | Europe |
Session 4: four-ball, 23 September 1989 (PM)
Session: USA 2, Europe 2 · running score USA 7, Europe 9.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chip Beck and Paul Azinger | Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam | 2 & 1 | USA |
| 2 | Tom Kite and Mark McCumber | Bernhard Langer and José María Cañizares | 2 & 1 | USA |
| 3 | Payne Stewart and Curtis Strange | Howard Clark and Mark James | 1 up | Europe |
| 4 | Mark Calcavecchia and Ken Green | Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal | 4 & 2 | Europe |
Session 5: singles, 24 September 1989 (all day)
Session: USA 7, Europe 5 · running score USA 14, Europe 14.
| Match | USA | Europe | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Azinger | Seve Ballesteros | 1 up | USA |
| 2 | Chip Beck | Bernhard Langer | 3 & 2 | USA |
| 3 | Payne Stewart | José María Olazábal | 1 up | Europe |
| 4 | Mark Calcavecchia | Ronan Rafferty | 1 up | Europe |
| 5 | Tom Kite | Howard Clark | 8 & 7 | USA |
| 6 | Mark O'Meara | Mark James | 3 & 2 | Europe |
| 7 | Fred Couples | Christy O'Connor Jnr | 1 up | Europe |
| 8 | Ken Green | José María Cañizares | 1 up | Europe |
| 9 | Mark McCumber | Gordon Brand Jnr | 1 up | USA |
| 10 | Tom Watson | Sam Torrance | 3 & 1 | USA |
| 11 | Lanny Wadkins | Nick Faldo | 1 up | USA |
| 12 | Curtis Strange | Ian Woosnam | 2 up | USA |
USA team, 1989
| Player | Nationality | Rookie | W-L-H | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Azinger | United States | yes | 3-1-0 | 3 |
| Chip Beck | United States | yes | 3-0-1 | 3½ |
| Mark Calcavecchia | United States | 2-3-0 | 2 | |
| Fred Couples | United States | yes | 0-2-0 | 0 |
| Ken Green | United States | yes | 2-2-0 | 2 |
| Tom Kite | United States | 2-1-1 | 2½ | |
| Mark McCumber | United States | yes | 2-1-0 | 2 |
| Mark O'Meara | United States | 0-2-0 | 0 | |
| Payne Stewart | United States | 1-3-0 | 1 | |
| Curtis Strange | United States | 1-3-1 | 1½ | |
| Lanny Wadkins | United States | 2-2-0 | 2 | |
| Tom Watson | United States | 1-1-1 | 1½ |
Europe team, 1989
| Player | Nationality | Rookie | W-L-H | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seve Ballesteros | Spain | 3-1-1 | 3½ | |
| José María Cañizares | Spain | 1-1-0 | 1 | |
| Howard Clark | England | 2-2-0 | 2 | |
| Nick Faldo | England | 2-2-1 | 2½ | |
| Mark James | England | 3-1-0 | 3 | |
| Christy O'Connor Jnr | Ireland | 1-1-0 | 1 | |
| Gordon Brand Jnr | Scotland | 1-2-0 | 1 | |
| Bernhard Langer | Germany | 0-3-0 | 0 | |
| José María Olazábal | Spain | 4-0-1 | 4½ | |
| Ronan Rafferty | Northern Ireland | yes | 1-2-0 | 1 |
| Sam Torrance | Scotland | 1-2-0 | 1 | |
| Ian Woosnam | Wales | 2-2-1 | 2½ |
What happened at the 1989 Ryder Cup
Cañizares holed a 2-foot putt on 18 to beat Ken Green 1 up. It gave Europe 14 points and kept the Cup, with four matches still on the course.
The USA, two down entering singles, won all four of the last singles (McCumber, Watson, Wadkins, Strange) to tie the match. It was only the second tie in Ryder Cup history (after 1969).
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.