Is the Ryder Cup Becoming Irrelevant?

There has been a lot of talk about making golf an Olympic event some time in the near future. 

The game continues to spread like wildfire across Europe, Asia, India, and Australia, the results of which have been apparent in the ever-increasing number of international players on the PGA Tour. 

Nine of the top 25 players in the world (36 percent) hail from countries outside of Europe and the United States.

All three FedEx Cup events and three of the four majors in 2008 have been won by players from outside of Europe and the United States.

In the past 10 years, 11 of the 40 players who have won a major have come from outside of Europe and the United States.  If you take Tiger Woods out of the picture, players from countries other than Europe and the United States have won over 40 percent of the majors in the past 10 years.

As the game continues to take on a more international face, how close is the Ryder Cup to becoming irrelevant?

Is it becoming necessary to either expand the Ryder Cup to include players from other countries in addition to Europe and America, or create a whole new, worldwide team event that could eventually become the modern day Ryder Cup? 

There have already been rumblings around American golf circles about expending the American Ryder Cup team to include players from all of North and South America to counter the European team’s ability to choose players from an ever expanding European Union.

This idea can be more attributed to American golf fans looking for a way to regain the Ryder Cup than their interest in expanding the borders of the event.

The Ryder Cup first began in 1927, although many believe that the event actually started earlier but was not formalized or named the ‘The Ryder Cup’ until 1927. 

Between 1927 to around 10-15 years ago, the PGA and European tours were dominated by American and European players, with a small number of ‘outsiders’ coming from Australia and South Africa.

Thus up until about 10-15 years ago, the Ryder Cup was indeed a challenge between the best players in the world. That has significantly changed in recent years.

Ultra-popular PGA Tour players such as Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas, Vijay Singh and many others are currently unable to participate in the Ryder Cup. 

The percentage of the world’s top players coming from countries other than the United States and the European Union will only increase in the coming years. 

Ten years from now, will people really be interested in seeing America take on Europe in the Ryder Cup when more than 50 percent of the world’s top 25 players will likely come from other countries?

Will people really be interested in the President’s Cup when the top European players are left out of the event?

The game of golf, and the world in general for that matter, is changing.  Borders are breaking down and countries that weren’t even on the radar screen of the world economy are now becoming major players. 

The PGA Tour is mirroring the changing dynamics of the global economy, and it is only a matter of time before events like the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup will need to accommodate these changes.

The Ryder Cup is an event rich in history and is considered one of the most exciting events in all of golf. 

But the excitement associated with the Ryder Cup has been largely due to fans having the opportunity to see the best players on the planet compete against each other in match play and team events. 

As players from South Africa, Asia, India and Australia make up a larger percentage of the world’s top players, you can only assume that the excitement associated with the Ryder Cup will begin to diminish as the number of the world’s top players allowed to participate in the event also diminishes. 

Don’t be surprised if a bi-annual World Cup style golf event is created some time in the next 10-15 years to all but replace the current Ryder Cup. 

But, for now let's sit back and enjoy the excitement surrounding the 2008 Ryder Cup.