For decades, the Ryder Cup has provided the worst fashion in sports, outside the NFL’s Color Rush games. Before the 2018 competition gets underway, here’s FTW’s ranking of uniforms from the past 25 years.
27. The greatest moment of Justin Leonard’s career will always involve a shirt featuring three-dozen old-timey golf pictures. (1999)
26. The frequent presence of wives and girlfriends is a long tradition at the Ryder Cup. Thankfully, dressing them like a state seal is not. (1993)
25. From 1995-2014, the U.S. went 2-8 in the Ryder Cup which is pretty much summed up by the mock turtleneck. (2002)
24. From the “your dad on the golf course” collection. (1995)
23. Deconstructed argyle was a winning look for the U.S. in 2008.
22. “This one time, Justin Leonard had to wear a shirt with old-timey golf pictures on it.” (2008)
21. Stewart Cink, sporting the traditional red, white and lilac at the 2010 Ryder Cup.
20. Pleats on pleats on pleats on pleats. (1997)
19. Gray-on-gray vest to pants is a little too grandfatherly, Tiger. (2004)
18. Davis Love III, UNC alum, wearing Wake Forest colors in a shirt that looks like it could be from 2009, not 1999.
17. The high five/dap confusion is a tale as old as time and/or Fred Couples being on the Ryder Cup team. (1995)
16. Bubba looks like a guy who goes to a fancy restaurant and has to wear a jacket given to him by the maitre d. (2012)
15. The 2012 Cup is a line of demarcation into stylish, modern clothing as well as coordinate fist pumps.
14. The USA hats from 2016 were a sartorial high point.
13. Red pants weren’t just for Santa or J. Crew catalog models in 2014.
12. Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson lost their four-ball match and it’s hard not to blame Phil’s clear resistance to wearing a matching puka shell necklace. (2010)
11. Sleek in victory. (2016)
10. The red stripe is subtle, unlike most features on Ryder Cup attire. (2012)
9. Remember Gonzo on Muppet Babies and how he wore a chicken on his overalls? The Ryder Cup trophy is the Stewart Cink’s chicken.
8. Tiger’s back. It’s time to bring back plaid pants with him. (2018)
7. Matt Kuchar, wearing a classic sweater during the most tumultuous Ryder Cup in recent history. (2014)
6. And now, a brief break with Michel Jordan sitting on a fairway smoking a cigar. (1999)
5. We all miss you, Anthony Kim.
4. Shhhh, sometimes basic is better. (2016)
3. One gets the feeling that when all the Ryder Cup apparel shows up at his hotel room, Tiger goes straight for the sweater vests, Chandler Bing style. (2006)
2. In 2014, the team were sweaters that had the American flag used during colonial times (1777-1795) which, coincidentally, had been the last time they won a Ryder Cup on foreign soil.
1. It’s been imitated many times since, but the Ryder Cup trophy sweater, worn here by Payne Stewart in 1993, still sets the standard (and was actually the last time the U.S. won a Cup on foreign soil).
