Samuel Ryder died at 77 on January 2, 1936, but his golf legacy has only grown over the last nine decades.

The English seed merchant became enthralled by golf as a middle-aged man. He sponsored tournaments in the 1920s and innovatively staged a match between an American team and a British team in June 1926.

A May 1926 British wire service article detailed how the surplus money from that event would be used for the British team’s travel expenses to America for a rematch in 1927. It read: “It is hoped thus to make the affair an annual one.”

Though it would become a biennial event, the stage was set for the first official Ryder Cup in June 1927: a 9 1/2-2 1/2 win for the U.S. at the Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts.

More than 98 years later, the 45th Ryder Cup will begin on Sept.

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