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6 of the most heartwarming moments in Ryder Cup history
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As intense as the Ryder Cup can be, it also has its fair share of moments that make your eyes well up.
Here are six of the most heartwarming moments in the nearly 100-year Ryder Cup history.
Rory Comes Full Circle
Rory McIlroy caught heat in 2009 when he called the Ryder Cup “an exhibition” that was “not that important” to him.
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Overall view of fans and spectators during Saturday fourball matches on the PGA Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland. (Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Well, Team Europe was walloped at Whistling Straits in 2021, and it was clear he had done a total 180 from his previous thoughts.
“The more and more I play in this event, I realize that it’s the best event in golf, bar none,” McIlroy said, fighting back tears. “I love being a part of it. I can’t wait to be a part of many more. It’s the best …
“They’ve always been my greatest experiences in my career. I’ve never really cried or got emotional over what I’ve done as an individual. I couldn’t give a s—, but this team and what it feels like… all of that, it’s phenomenal, and I’m so happy to be a part of it.”
Seve Looks Down on Europe
The 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah was the first since Seve Ballesteros, a major factor in what the Ryder Cup is today, died at age 54 of brain cancer.
Ballesteros put Team Europe on the map when Team Great Britain and Ireland expanded to include the entire continent, making him a mainstay.
Team Europe trailed 10-6 entering Sunday singles on the road. In honor of Ballesteros, Team Europe wore touches of his typical navy blue on Sunday to summon some magic, and it worked.
The Europeans went 8-3-1 in the Sunday singles to win the Cup, 14.5-13.5, capped off by Martin Kaymer’s cup-clinching putt.
Upon the victory, Team Europe captain and fellow Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal could barely keep his emotions in check.
“This one is for him,” he said, covering his face with his hat.
A Heavy Heart
A fan favorite overseas, Darren Clarke was playing in his fifth Ryder Cup in 2006. But he was playing just six weeks after the death of his wife.
Clarke entered the K Club in Ireland with a heavy heart, but the fans gave him the loudest ovations by far throughout the week.
Clarke won all three of his matches, including a 3 & 2 singles victory against Zach Johnson, where Clarke almost instantly broke down in tears and shared long embraces with members of Team USA.
Europe’s Darren Clarke, right, celebrates with Henrik Stenson on the 16th green during Day 3 of the Ryder Cup at the K Club in County Kildare. (David Davies/Getty Images)
Nicklaus Concedes
Perhaps the best moment of sportsmanship occurred in 1969 at Royal Birkdale in England in a singles match between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin.
After Nicklaus parred the 18th, the United States had enough points to retain the Ryder Cup, so all Europe could do was lose outright. But Nicklaus picked up Jacklin’s ball marker, conceding the 3-foot putt, which resulted in the Ryder Cup ending in a tie.
“I don’t think you would have missed it, but I wasn’t going to give you the chance, either,” Nicklaus told Jacklin.
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Perhaps it was a win-win for Nicklaus (although USA captain Sam Snead was said to be angry at Nicklaus for losing out on the opportunity for an outright win), but it has since become a staple Ryder Cup moment. Beginning in 2021, the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award has been awarded to members of each team who best exemplify sportsmanship. The duo also designed The Concession Golf Club in Sarasota.
Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy Realize The Moment
Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed were the first singles match on Sunday at Hazeltine, and both showed incredible emotion throughout the entire 18 holes. McIlroy would hush the USA crowd after putts, while Reed would bow to their applause.
On the par-three eighth hole, McIlroy was well away, roughly 45 feet to Reed’s 15. But after making the nearly impossible putt, McIlroy, the same golfer who said he would not be “running around fist-pumping” during a Ryder Cup, let out an emphatic scream and yelled, “F—ing come on! I can’t hear you!”
But Reed knocked down his putt, and gave McIlroy the old Dikembe Mutombo finger wag.
McIlroy, though, couldn’t help but crack a smile, and after celebrating with the crowd, Reed and McIlroy fist-bumped and patted one another on the back.
It remains maybe the most tense singles match of all time, and this moment doesn’t exactly tear at the heartstrings, but even both golfers were able to acknowledge the beauty of a magical moment.
Rivals Find Respect
Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo were two of the biggest golf rivals before the turn of the century.
Both masters of their craft from overseas, the two had very different styles of play and attitudes, all while trying to beat one another on the course.
Nick Faldo of the European team celebrates his Final Day Singles win with team mate Seve Ballesteros in the Ryder Cup at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. (David Cannon/Allsport)
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But in 1995, when Faldo dropped the Cup-clinching putt, one of the first people to hug him was Ballesteros, who was holding back tears.
After Ballesteros died, Faldo credited Ballesteros for helping make the Ryder Cup what it is today.
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World Curling finds no violations after cheating allegations rock Canada-Sweden curling match
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World Curling has addressed the cheating allegations that rocked Friday night’s round-robin game between Canada and Sweden, concluding that “no violations were recorded” during the umpires’ observations that followed the claims.
Tensions flared when Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson accused Canada’s Marc Kennedy of double-touching the stone. Videos shared online appeared to show Kennedy touching the stone with an extended finger after he released the handle.
Sweden’s Rasmus Wranaa (L) reacts next to Canada’s Ben Hebert during the curling men’s round-robin between Canada and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Cortina d’Ampezzo on Feb. 13, 2026. (Tiziana FABI / AFP)
The two opponents exchanged words when Eriksson said, “Maybe it’s okay touching the rock after the hog line, I don’t know.”
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Kennedy then fired back, “Who’s doing it? I haven’t done it once, you can f— off.”
The two continued to exchange words, but it was Kennedy who used profanities to express his displeasure with the accusations.
“Come on Oskar, just f— off.”
World Curling released a statement Saturday addressing the controversy – both the accusations and Kennedy’s sportsmanship.
Canada’s Brad Jacobs and Marc Kennedy in action during the men’s curling round-robin session against Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The event took place in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
“Game Umpires are situated at the end of each sheet and physically cannot see every delivery infraction. However, when they are made aware of delivery issues, game umpires are positioned to observe the delivery for three ends. During this period of observation in the Friday evening game, there were no violations recorded,” the statement began, noting that video replay is not used during games and an umpire’s call is final.
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The sports governing body also addressed two rule concerns, including “double-touching” and touching the granite. According to the rules, players can retouch the handle multiple times, but “touching the handle after the hog line is not allowed and will result in the stone being removed from play.”
Additionally, the stone will be removed from play if the granite is touched at all during “forward motion.”
As a result of the allegations, World Curling said that two officials will be positioned to observe all deliveries beginning with Saturday’s games.
Canada’s Ben Hebert, Canada’s Brad Jacobs and Canada’s Brett Gallant compete in the curling men’s round robin between Canada and Sweden during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Feb. 13, 2026. (Tiziana FABI / AFP)
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Canada was also issued a verbal warning from World Curling for Kennedy’s language during the game.
“During that meeting it was made clear to those officials that further inappropriate behavior, determined by rule R.19 would result in additional sanctions,” the statement read. According to the rule, Kennedy could face suspension if he commits another violation.
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Arne Slot has said the “last thing” Liverpool need this season is another injury after midfielder Wataru Endo was stretchered off against Sunderland.
Endo — who was already having to fill in for injured players at right-back in midweek — is now expected to be sidelined for “a long time” with a foot problem. His injury is another blow for Slot’s side, which is now extremely stretched ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup fourth round clash against Brighton & Hove Albion.
“The load management is important because the last thing we could use right now is another injury,” Slot said.
“That is always the difficult balance for the manager, including his medical staff, what is the best decision to make every single time. It is also true that a player could get injured if he has to play three games in seven days. But it also happened many times that a player could play three games in seven days.
“So that’s the challenge we are having, but the most important thing is we have to train today, see how the players are doing, listen to how they feel and then make the best possible decision.”
Liverpool beat League One side Barnsley to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup and Slot acknowledged his team need to ensure the small margins work in their favour if they want to progress to the next round of the competition.
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“Margins have been so small for us this season,” he said. “Every single time the other team has a bit of a sniff in the game, all of a sudden they score. [Whereas] we need to put so much in it before we are able to score.
“I didn’t see that much difference in the last 20 minutes [of Wednesday’s 1-0 win at Sunderland] as I saw against City [in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat]. The difference was that the first time they arrived after us scoring it was a goal. Before that we were challenging them in their box to score the second. So the margins are really small.”
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