Staff WriterThe stage is set for a nostalgic golfing spectacle as four of Europe’s most celebrated Ryder Cup icons return to The Belfry Hotel & Resort’s Brabazon Course on Tuesday, August 19, for the Ryder Cup 40th anniversary match.
This special exhibition will revisit the very fairways where, in 1985, Team Europe toppled the previously untouchable United States to claim their first victory in golf’s greatest team contest.
On that autumn weekend four decades ago, the European team—until then overshadowed and often overrun—finally cracked the American code.
Now, four of that victorious squad’s central figures, Sir Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, and Sam Torrance, will lace up their spikes once more.
Over the course of five holes—the 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th, and 18th—they’ll battle in a fourball Match Play format, with Faldo and Woosnam taking on Lyle and Torrance.
Between them, these four legends boast a combined 32 Ryder Cup appearances and nine Major Championships, making this much more than just a ceremonial hit-and-giggle.
Fans worldwide will be able to watch the Ryder Cup 40th anniversary match live via the Ryder Cup Europe YouTube channel, with international broadcasts carrying the action.
Sky Sports Golf’s Josh Antmann and Wayne “Radar” Riley will patrol the fairways, serving up on-course commentary and the kind of banter only veterans of the sport can appreciate.
The 1985 Ryder Cup itself was a turning point, ending nearly three decades of American dominance. Europe’s 16½–11½ victory marked their first win as “Team Europe” rather than the previous Great Britain and Ireland side, and it was the first U.S. defeat since 1957.
The defining moment came when Sam Torrance drained a nerveless 22-foot putt on the 18th to defeat Andy North, taking the score to 14½–8½ and securing an unassailable lead.
It was a moment that electrified European golf and laid the foundations for decades of fierce, often unpredictable competition.
The timing of this anniversary clash is no coincidence. It tees off just days before the Betfred British Masters, hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry from August 21–24.
The tournament is the curtain-raiser for the DP World Tour’s “Back 9”—a collection of nine of its most prestigious events—and is also the final chance for players to secure automatic qualification for Team Europe’s 2025 Ryder Cup squad, bound for Bethpage Black in New York next month.
Reflecting on the historic breakthrough of 1985, Sir Nick Faldo said: “The 1985 Ryder Cup really marked a turning point in Ryder Cup history. For so long, it felt like an American victory was a foregone conclusion.
But under the brilliant captaincy of Tony Jacklin, and with a crop of world-class European players emerging, we finally broke through and that win at The Belfry started a period of European dominance in the event.”
Faldo added: “Today, the Ryder Cup is known for being fiercely contested and 1985 was the start of that. It’s going to be great fun catching up with my old teammates, sharing old stories, and getting our competitive juices flowing.
It’s also a brilliant way to kick-start the Betfred British Masters, which I’m hosting for the third time. The tournament promises to have a strong Ryder Cup narrative running through it as the final qualifying event for players to earn their spot in the upcoming match at Bethpage Black.”
For golf fans, the Ryder Cup 40th anniversary match is more than a commemorative stroll down memory lane—it’s a living reminder of how one afternoon at The Belfry reshaped the sport’s greatest team competition.
Expect camaraderie, competitiveness, and more than a few stories from the glory days, served up with the kind of wit and gamesmanship that only Ryder Cup veterans can deliver.
