Most Ryder Cup wins by player: Where Tiger Woods, other golf legends rank with records

The Ryder Cup is a biennial event, occurring every two years. Each tournament features a team from the United States competing against a team of European golfers. 

The format has changed over time, but the Ryder Cup event itself has been held in some fashion since 1927, outside of interruptions from World War II and COVID-19. Initially, it was a competition just between the United States and Great Britain, but with the U.S. dominating the event after World War II, the competition opened up to also include continental Europe. 

With nearly 100 years passing since the first Ryder Cup, here is a look at the golfers with the most wins in history. 

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Who has won the most Ryder Cup matches?

Spain's Sergio Garcia has won the most Ryder Cup matches. He has competed in 45 matches throughout his Ryder Cup career, and he has won 25 of them, four more than the next golfer. Germany's Bernhard Langer is tied for second with England's Lee Westwood, and they both have 21 wins. 

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Most Ryder Cup wins by player

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Best American Ryder Cup players

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Phil Mickelson

The 55-year-old golfer has won 45 PGA Tour events in his career, including six majors. Mickelson has won three Masters titles, two PGA Championships and the 2013 Open Championship. "Lefty" made the controversial decision to join LIV Golf after 30 years as a member of the PGA Tour. Mickelson is one of 17 golfers to have won three of the four golf majors and is just missing a win at the U.S. Open, an event that he has finished second at a record six times. 

Lanny Wadkins

Wadkins was born in Richmond, Virginia. He attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina before turning pro in 1971. Over the course of his golf career, Wadkins won 21 tournaments on the PGA Tour. His lone major win was at the 1977 PGA Championship. Wadkins' highest career ranking was on March 1, 1987, when he was the fifth-ranked golfer in the world. 

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Tom Kite

Kite was born in McKinney, Texas, and eventually played golf at the University of Texas. He helped the Longhorns to two NCAA Team Championships in 1971 and 1972. Kite turned professional in 1972. He had 37 wins as a professional, with 19 of them coming on the PGA Tour. His lone major victory was at the 1992 U.S. Open, where he beat Jeff Sluman by two strokes. 

Tiger Woods

Woods is one of the best golfers of all time. He is tied for the most PGA Tour wins and is second in men's major championships, only trailing Jack Nicklaus. Woods' career has been derailed as of late due to injuries. He turned professional in 1996 and has won 82 events on the PGA Tour, including 15 majors. 

Woods first joined the Ryder Cup team in 1997 when it was held in Spain. Despite being one of the best golfers in this generation, Woods only came out victorious at the 1999 Ryder Cup. 

Jim Furyk

Furyk is from West Chester, Pennsylvania. The 55-year-old played golf at the University of Arizona before turning pro in 1992. He won 29 events in his career, 17 of which were on the PGA Tour. The lone major win of Furyk's career came at the 2003 U.S. Open where he won by three strokes over Stephen Leaney. Furyk's highest career ranking was No. 2 on Sept. 10, 2006. 

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Best European Ryder Cup players

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Sergio Garcia

Garcia was born in Borriol, Castellon, Spain. He started playing golf at the age of three, being taught by his father, who was a club professional. Garcia won his club championship at 12, and then four years later became the youngest player ever to make the cut at a European Tour event.

Garcia is currently a member of LIV Golf and has two wins on that tour. He has 11 PGA Tour wins and won the 2017 Masters. Garcia and Justin Rose had to go to a playoff, but Garcia emerged victorious. He represented Europe at the Ryder Cup for the first time in 1999. 

Bernhard Langer

Langer was born in Anhausen, Germany which is now part of the Diedorf municipality in Bavaria, West Germany. He still maintains a residence there, but he also has a U.S. residence in Boca Raton, Florida. He and his wife Vikki Carol have four children.

Langer became a professional golfer in 1972. He has 125 career wins to his credit, with 42 coming on the European Tour and a record 47 on the PGA Tour Champions, which is just the senior version of the PGA Tour. Langer won two golf majors in his career, the 1985 and 1993 Masters Tournaments. 

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Lee Westwood

Westwood was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England. He started playing golf when he was 13 and played with a half set of clubs that was bought for him by his grandparents. Westwood stuck with the sports and turned pro in 1993. He was formerly a member of the PGA and European Tours but now is a member of LIV Golf. 

He has 44 professional wins in his career, with two of them coming on the PGA Tour. Westwood never won a golf major. He has won the Ryder Cup seven times with Team Europe heading into 2025. 

Colin Montgomerie

Montgomerie was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He has a residence in Scotland now, but it is in Dunning, Perthshire. Montgomerie also has a U.S. residence in Naples, Florida. He was one of the first European golfers to attend college in the U.S. when he began attending and playing golf at Houston Baptist University.

Montgomerie turned pro in 1987. He has 54 professional wins under his belt and is currently a member of PGA Tour Champions. Montgomerie has never won a major but has finished as a runner-up at the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013. 

Seve Ballesteros

Ballesteros was born in Pedrena, Cantabria, Spain in 1957. He passed away on May 7, 2011, in Pedrena, Cantabria, Spain, due to a malignant brain tumor. Ballesteros comes from a family of golfers with three brothers and two nephews also playing professional golf.

He turned pro in 1974 when he was 16 years old. Ballesteros tallied 90 wins as a professional, with nine of them coming on the PGA Tour. He won five majors, including two Masters tournaments and three Open Championships. Ballesteros was ranked as the No. 1 golfer in the world for the first time on April 27, 1986, and he held the spot for 61 weeks. 

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