Most memorable moments in Ryder Cup history

At the time, American golfers began using steel shafts in competition stateside. They assumed that would be the case for the second installment of the event and first in England. It wasn't, as host, Great Britain would not allow steel. The U.S. was forced to go back to wood and ended up losing 7-5.

Perhaps looking to gain some sort of psychological edge, Great Britain and captain Henry Cotton asked to have the grooves on the iron clubs of the U.S. golfers inspected before the event began in Portland, Ore. In the end, nothing illegal was found and the Americans rolled to an 11-1 victory.

Dubbed the "Wee Ice Mon" by his friends across the pond for his sometimes cold demeanor, Ben Hogan lived up to that moniker, in part, during the pre-match ceremonies. After Great Britain captain Dai Rees dragged on during the introduction of his team, American captain Hogan simply said: "The United States Ryder Cup team, the finest golfers in the world." 

Perhaps the most memorable act of sportsmanship came in 1969 when American legend Jack Nicklaus conceded a putt of approximately three feet to Tony Jacklin on the final hole of the final match to halve both and secure the first tie in Ryder Cup history. What became known as the "The Concession," allowed the U.S. to retain the Cup as reigning champs, but also sparked some controversy.

The Americans won 17-11 at The Greenbriar in 1979, but this installment ranks among the most historic in the Ryder Cup for the fact their opponents included all of continental Europe. Replacing Great Britain and Ireland as the U.S. opponent, Team Europe featured a Spaniard by the name of Seve Bellesteros, who went 1-4-0 for the event.

Jack Nicklaus called Ballesteros' shot out of a fairway sand bunker from about 245-yards out on the 18th hole at PGA National the "finest shot I've ever seen." Instead of taking the safe route, back into the fairway, Ballesteros blasted a 3-wood from the sand to roughly 18-feet of the pin. He ended up halving the match with Fuzzy Zoeller. Europe lost by a point, but two years later began a string of three consecutive victories.

At the same '83 event, Nicklaus, when not in awe of Ballesteros' sand shot, got personal with mother earth. Following Lanny Wadkins' wedge shot that landed inches from the cup on the par-5 18th hole during a crucial match with Jose Maria Canizares, the Golden Bear picked up Wadkins' divot and planted a nice smooch on it. The U.S. went  on to extend its Ryder Cup dominance, but that reign ended in '85.

By this time, the American dominance of the Ryder Cup was so commonplace, nobody associated with event thought twice about it - until things got interesting two years earlier. Times officially changed in 1985 at The Belfry, when the team from Europe handed the U.S. its first defeat since 1957. Sam Torrance sank a 22-foot putt on the 18th to beat Andy North 1 up and secure the historic victory.

Known as one of the best putters in the game, American Ben Crenshaw didn't even use a putter down the stretch of the '87 event. In a fit of mild rage, Crenshaw slammed his putter and it broke. He was forced to putt with his 1-iron the rest of the way and lost 1 up to Eamonn Darcy on the final hole as Europe repeated as Ryder Cup champion.

The Ryder Cup rivalry between the established Spaniard Seve Ballesteros and young American Paul Azinger was born at the The Belfry in 1989. Facing off in the first singles match of the day, things got heated. Azinger wouldn't allow Ballesteros to replace a scuffed ball, who in turn questioned 'Zinger's drop on the 18th. Azinger won the match 1 up but Ballesteros and Europe retained the Cup after the event finished in a tie.

Sequals are not usually as good as the original (The Godfather II aside), but when Azinger and Ballesteros met up again at Kiawah Island in the Day 1 foursomes it was just like old times. The contentiousness between the two continued from two years prior. They argued over dropped balls, lost balls, just about anything. Ballesteros and José María Olazábal  beat Azinger and Chip Beck 2 & 1, but the Americans won their first title since 1983. 

The U.S. won the emotional and often contentious '91 installment in South Carolina, but veteran Mark Calcavecchia was unable to fully enjoy it at the time . Calcavecchia blew a 4-shot lead with four holes to play to Colin Montgomerie in singles. The match was halved, and a distraught Calcavecchia soon after fled the course in disappointment. He was seen crying at the beach nearby. 

Calcavecchia was spared the moniker Ryder Cup goat when Europe's Bernhard Langer missed his six-foot putt on the 18th hole of his singles match with Hale Irwin . Had Langer dropped the putt, Europe would have tied the event and reclaimed the Ryder Cup. Instead, the U.S. earned the win and Langer continues to be remembered for his miss.

Ballesteros wasn't the only one Azinger had issues with during Ryder Cup play. At the Belfry in '93, Azinger and Nick Faldo matched up in singles. There was obvious tension between the two, mostly because of their attitudes toward one another. Faldo aced the par-3 14th, Azinger followed with a birdie. With the Americans having already secured the Cup, Azinger had a six-foot putt to halve the match. Faldo wouldn't concede it. Competitors to the end.

Staged at New York's famed Oak Hill Country Club, the '95 version of the Ryder Cup became to be known as "Choke Hill." The Americans held a two-point lead heading into the Sunday singles. While it's easy to say the hosts choked, give the Europeans credit for claiming 7 1/2 points in singles to win their second Cup on U.S. soil at the time.

Before the U.S. won a memorable and somewhat controversial Ryder Cup in 1999, they made waves when some team members - like David Duval and Tiger Woods - suggested the players be paid. Or at least receive payment that they could donate to charity. That didn't sit well with some golf purists. There was even talk of a boycott within the U.S. ranks. That never happened, and each golfer was eventually given $200,000 to use for charity and furthering golf development.

The Americans' comeback from four-points down after the first two days remains one for the ages. And maybe the U.S. and its fans at Brookline were a little too caught up in the moment. Justin Leonard sank a pair of putts in the 40-foot range during his match against José María Olazábal, the second on the 17th, which sent the U.S, team into a frenzy as team members and even some of their wives stormed the green to celebrate with Leonard - much to the dismay of the European side. Olazabal still had to make his putt of 20-plus feet, but missed and eventually lead to the American victory.

Faldo's ace in '93 was something special, but Paul Casey's at the K Club could not have been more dramatic. The Englishman knocked his tee shot in on the 213-yard 14th hole during his foursomes match with David Howell against Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson. The ball dropped in the cup, the contest was over, with the Europeams claiming a 5 & 4 victory for the match.

Colin Montgomerie played in every Ryder Cup from 1991-2006. He's considered in some circles to be the best golfer the event has ever seen. He posted a 20-9-7 record and was a perfect 8-0 in singles. His final match in 2006 resulted in a 1 up victory over David Toms at The K Club for Europe's third straight win.

Six weeks after the death of his first wife, Heather, from cancer, Darren Clarke persevered to represent Europe at the Ryder Cup in Ireland. Emotion consumed the Northern Ireland native often during the weekend, but he proved worthy of the challenge. Clarke went 3-0-0 and capped his bittersweet performance with a 3 & 2 victory over Zach Johnson.

Free spirit Boo Weekley left a lasting impression during his first and only Ryder Cup appearance to date in 2008. Not only did he go 2-0-1 at Valhalla during the American victory, but he also channeled his inner "Happy Gilmore." After crushing his opening tee shot in his singles match, Weekley rode the bull - or in this case his driver - down the fairway.

The Americans needed just 4 1/2 points from singles play to regain the Ryder Cup in suburban Chicago. Unfortunately, Team Europe had other ideas and claimed the first five matches to ultimately stun the U.S. by recording 8 1/2 points on the final day to keep hold of the Cup. From Ian Poulter's putting to Paul Lawrie and Lee Westwood's dominance, the Europeans pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in all of sports. 

All the years Rory McIlroy has spent in the states, it's a wonder he still doesn't know the time zones in the U.S. On the final day of the 2012 event outside Chicago, McIlroy thought his tee time for a singles match with Keegan Bradley was at 12:25 p.m., but he reportedly read that on his phone - which was posted as eastern time. Illinois is in the central time zone, thus he was to start an hour earlier. McIlroy eventually got to the course, via a police escort, about 10 minutes before his tee time. He ended beating Bradley to help Europe complete an improbable comeback and celebrated with an oversized clock around this neck.

The U.S. didn't win the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, but team member Patrick Reed certainly did his best to rile up the European fans. His fist-pumping and arm-raising were nothing new to the Ryder Cup scene. However, his finger shush to the European crowd following a birdie on the seventh hole in singles play has made him public enemy No. 1 this weekend.

Two years after trying to silence the European fan base, Reed sent the U.S. backers into a frenzy at Hazeltine when he holed out for eagle from 79 yards out on the sixth during the Saturday afternoon four-ball. Reed's reaction was emphatic and the crowd fed off it. Just another reason to love the Ryder Cup