Ryder Cup, a gold participant’s medal by the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co Ltd, golfer, rev. inscribed (Wentworth Club, Great Britain v U.S.A, June 4th and 5th 1926), 9ct, hallmarked Birmingham 1925, 26mm. About extremely fine and extremely rare; with loop and ring for suspension £3,000-5,000

The first official Ryder Cup match was played at the Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts in June 1927. However the year before, in June 1926, a match was held between British and American golfers who were gathered at the Wentworth Club at Virginia Water in Surrey ahead of that year’s Open Championship. The organiser was Sam Ryder (1858-1936), a wealthy St Albans businessman who had become rich selling penny packets of seeds to gardeners. He drew up two teams of ten professionals from Britain and the U.S. and the match, held on 4-5 June, became the forerunner of the Ryder Cup matches. The match was won 13 1/2 to 1 1/2 by the British team which included Archie Compston, George Duncan, Arthur Havers, Abe Mitchell and Ted Ray. Mitchell was Ryder’s personal coach and it is said he is the figure on the top of the gold Ryder Cup trophy which was first presented at the 1927 match. The present item is a participant’s medal, one of perhaps 20 or 22 made on Ryder’s instructions. The whereabouts of most of them is not currently known