Independence Day: Top 5 Team USA golf moments of the last 20 years

The Ryder Cup isn’t just one of the best events in golf, it’s one of the most iconic championships in all of sport. However, for more than three decades, the contest has also been a bit lopsided. Since 1985, the American side has only come home with the trophy five times.

The 1999 edition of the Ryder Cup, played at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, will live on as the year this event took on a whole new tenor.

The matches themselves were impressive, to be sure. Both rosters were stacked. The Americans had all 12 players in the top 30 of the Official World Golf Ranking, but the Europeans were no slouches, with No. 3 Colin Montgomerie and No. 5 Lee Westwood among their stars. Oh, and they had a 19-year-old kid named Sergio Garcia, too. I think he turned out alright.

This week, almost 20 years ago, was basically the start of today’s highly intense rivalry between the two sides. Players – admittedly, mainly Americans – jabbed at their opponents in press conferences, and fans were uncommonly loud, bordering on abusive. But, between the ropes at least, the contest was one of the best imaginable.

The European side opened up a four-point lead by the end of play on Friday, and they maintained that gap through Saturday’s matches. Then things got turned upside down in a hurry.

The Americans won each of the first six singles matches that Sunday, not just closing the gap, but taking a two-point lead. At this point, you likely know the story. Jim Furyk beat Sergio Garcia 4&3, giving the Americans a two-point lead with two matches to play. A short time later, Justin Leonard drained a monster putt that all but sealed a team victory, leading to one of the most controversial moments in golf history.

While I’m sure most of the people involved in that moment would like a do-over, their joy was understandable. This lives on as one of the great weeks in American golf history.