The St Andrews Trophy is a biennial men's team golf tournament contested between teams of amateur golfers representing Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It takes its name from St Andrews in Scotland.
It was first played in 1956 and takes place in even-numbered years; Great Britain & Ireland plays in the United States in the Walker Cup in odd-numbered years. In 2025 the St Andrews Trophy will move to odd-numbered years and the Walker Cup will be played from even-numbered years from 2026.[1] The St Andrews Trophy is staged alternately in Great Britain & Ireland and on the Continent, and is organised by The R&A (an offshoot of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews) and the European Golf Association. The St Andrews Trophy itself was presented by the Royal and Ancient Club in 1963.
The event is played on two consecutive days. On both days there are four morning foursomes followed by afternoon singles, eight on the first day and nine on the second.
History
The first event was held at Wentworth on 20 and 21 October 1956 and followed a similar format to that used for the Joy Cup which featured professional golfers. The teams were called the British Isles and the Rest of Europe. There were five foursomes on the first day and ten singles on the second. All matches were over 36 holes. The British Isles used the same ten players on both days, while the Rest of Europe used a total of twelve players. The British Isles won all five matches on the first day and finished 12½–2½ winners.[2][3]
The second event was held at Golf de Saint-Cloud in France on 2 and 3 October 1958, retaining the same format as in 1956. Britain used 11 players while the Rest of Europe used 12 as they had in 1956. The British Isles won four of the five foursomes on the first day and, although the Rest of Europe won four singles, Britain won comfortably, 10–5.[4][5][6] In 1960 it was held at the Berkshire Golf Club on 3 and 4 September. With 12 players from the Rest of Europe attending, it was decided to extend the format to include six foursomes and twelve singles, all 12 in each team playing both days. Britain won the foursomes 5–1 and the singles 8–4 to win convincingly.[7][8]
The 1962 event was held at Halmstad GK in Tylösand, Sweden on 11 and 12 August. Matches were reduced to 18 holes with five foursomes and ten singles on each day. Teams were standardised to 11 players. Great Britain and Ireland won the foursomes sessions 4½–½ and 4–1 and, although the Continent of Europe tied the first-day singles and won the second set of singles 5½–4½, Great Britain and Ireland won 18–12 thanks to their domination of the foursomes.[9][10] The next tournament was held on 31 July and 1 August 1964 at Muirfield and was the first time the St Andrews trophy was contested. Great Britain and Ireland led 12–3 and won by a large margin, 23–7.[11][12][13] The 1966 event was held at Real Sociedad de Golf de Neguri near Bilbao, Spain on 29 and 30 July. Although Great Britain and Ireland won the first-day foursomes 4–1, the singles and the second-day foursomes were both tied. The Continent of Europe could have won the match with a good final session but they lost the first seven singles matches and the final result was 19½–10½.[14][15][16]
Portmarnock Golf Club in Ireland was the host for the 1968 match, held on 2 and 3 August. The match was very one-sided with Great Britain and Ireland leading 12½–2½ after the first day and winning 20–10, despite losing the final singles 6–4.[17][18] The 1970 event was held at Royal Zoute Golf Club, Belgium on 1 and 2 August. Great Britain and Ireland won all five foursomes on the first morning but after the Continent had won the singles and the second-day foursomes, Britain only led 10½–9½. The Continent were however only able to win three second-day singles and Britain won 17½–12½.[19][20] The Berkshire was the venue for the 1972 match, played on 4 and 5 August. The Continent won the first set of foursomes 3–2 but Britain won the singles 8½–1½ and the second-day foursomes 4–1 to take a convincing lead. The second set of singles was tied to give Great Britain and Ireland a 19½–10½ win, their ninth successive victory.[21][22]
The Continent of Europe had their first success on 2 and 3 August 1974 at Golf Club Punta Ala on the Tuscan coast in Italy. On the first day the foursomes were tied but the Continent won the singles and led 8–7, the first time they had been ahead after the first day.[23] On the second day the Continent won the foursomes 3–2 and with 5 wins in the singles they took the trophy by a 16–14 margin.[24] The Old Course at St Andrews hosted the 1976 match, played on 30 and 31 July. Although the Continent lost 18½–11½, it was their best performance on British soil.[25][26] The 1978 event was held on 4 and 5 August at Club zur Vahr in Bremen, Germany. Britain won comfortably by a margin of 20½–9½.[27][28]Royal St George's Golf Club hosted the 1980 match, played on 27 and 28 June. Great Britain and Ireland led 12–3 after the first day and had ensured success after leading 16–4 after the second-day foursomes. The Continent won the second-day singles session, Britain winning by a score of 19½–10½.[29][30]
The format was revised in 1982 with only four foursomes and eight singles on each day. Teams were reduced from 11 to 9. The Continent of Europe gained their second success. The match was played at Rosendaelsche Golfclub, Arnhem in the Netherlands on 25 and 26 June. The Continent led 8–4 after the first day.[31] On the second day they halved both the sessions and won 14–10.[32] The 1984 match, played on 30 and 31 May at Saunton Golf Club, was the first time the Continent came close to winning in Britain. Great Britain and Ireland led 6½–5½ after the first day and 8½–7½ after the second-day foursomes. In the afternoon five of the eight singles went to the final green with Britain winning two of these and halving the other three, giving Britain a close 13–11 win.[33][34] Halmstad hosted the event for the second time on 27 and 28 June 1986. The Continent had an immediate disadvantage when Anders Haglund, who had the inaugural European Amateur earlier in the year, had to withdraw because of illness. This meant that the same eight players had to play in each session. Britain won the first-day singles 7–1 to lead 9–3.[35] The Continent won the second-day foursomes but Britain again won the singles for a 14½–9½ win.[36]
The 1988 match was held at St Andrews on 29 and 30 June. Great Britain and Ireland led 7½–4½ after the first day and won easily, 15½–8½.[37][38]
