The 36th Ryder Cup Matches were held 22–24 September 2006 in Ireland at the Palmer Course of the K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, west of Dublin. It was the first time the event was played in Ireland. Europe won by 18½ to 9½ points, equalling their record winning margin of two years earlier for their third consecutive win, a first for Europe. Swedish rookie Henrik Stenson made the winning putt, just moments after Luke Donald sank a putt to ensure Europe retained the trophy.
Course
The K Club has two Arnold Palmer-designed championship courses and the 36th Ryder Cup was held on the Palmer Course. The course is a parkland course located on the banks of the River Liffey, threaded through mature woodlands on the Straffancountry estate.
Television
Domestically, Sky Sports provided live coverage of all sessions. In the United States, coverage of the first day was recorded live, but presented on tape-delay by USA Network. Bill Macatee hosted from the 18th tower. On Saturday, NBC Sports presented coverage on tape, but recorded live. NBC then aired the singles live on Sunday morning. Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller hosted from the 18th tower, Gary Koch and Bob Murphy called holes, while on-course reporters were Mark Rolfing, Roger Maltbie, and Dottie Pepper. To provide a European perspective, NBC used former European team playerNick Faldo as a guest analyst on the Saturday afternoon session. Faldo had worked in the same role for NBC at the 2002 Ryder Cup, and at the time of the 2006 edition was in between jobs, having worked as an analyst for ABC Sports from 2004-2006, but having signed with CBS Sports for 2007 and beyond.
Format
The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format used in 2004 and 2006 was as follows:
Day 1 — 4 fourball matches in a morning session and 4 foursome matches in an afternoon session
Day 2 — 4 fourball matches in a morning session and 4 foursome matches in an afternoon session
With a total of 28 points, 14½ points were required to win the Cup, and 14 points were required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.
*Total points earned in PGA Tour events from 22 August 2004 to 20 August 2006. Points were awarded for top-10 finishes in these events based on the following table:
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
2004 Regular events
75
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
2005 Regular events
75
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
2005 Majors
450
225
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
2006 Regular events
375
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
2006 Majors
675
360
320
280
240
200
160
120
80
40
Two captain's picks
Teams
Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2006 Ryder Cup. Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2006 Ryder Cup.
Friday's matches
Morning four-ball
Afternoon foursomes
Saturday's matches
Morning four-ball
Afternoon foursomes
Sunday's singles matches
Individual player records
Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player. Source:
