Should The Ryder And Solheim Cups Have A Play-off?

After last week's dramatic Solheim Cup tie in Spain, the first in the competition's history, there has been plenty of talk over whether the matches should go to extra holes. The Ryder Cup has been played since 1927 and has had two ties, in 1969 and 20 years later, so they are not exactly common occurrences but the players were still quizzed about it in Rome.

The rules state that the team holding the trophy get to retain it so there is a big emphasis on winning the cup back. As it should be, most people would argue.

But, in this age of made-for-TV sports and abbreviated formats, a play-off to determine a Solheim or Ryder Cup would be as dramatic as anything in the game. The Presidents Cup in 2003 was tied which then led to an impromptu and thrilling play-off between Ernie Els and Tiger Woods, which lasted three holes, before darkness saw the match shared.

So we've never had a result determined by a single player.

“That was one of the coolest memories you could have of a team event,” Max Homa said. “You would, I guess, crave more of that if possible ... but I don’t know, just ties leave a bad taste in my mouth.”

As for Rory McIlroy he's happy to keep things the way they are.

"I think it's part of history and tradition. You know, I was watching the Solheim Cup and obviously there was huge celebrations when Europe got to 14 and retained the cup. And I thought to myself, 'Geez, they are celebrating a lot for a draw', and then I go back to Medinah in 2012 and we went ballistic when we got to 14 as well.

"I think retaining it means something, and there's certainly a historical and traditional element to it. I do like traditions of the game, and this competition has been around since 1927, and that's the way they have always done it. Does that mean that's the way they always have to do it? Probably not. But it's nice to keep some of the tradition around the event."

McIlroy's team-mate, Justin Rose, was also on the tradition bandwagon, pointing to how other sports operate. For the record a draw in Rome began the week at a price of 11-1 with the bookmakers.

"History is history. History is so important, I think. It's quite nice to wrestle it back fair and square. You have to win it to get the cup back. I think the Ashes in cricket, retaining the Ashes is a big thing. In cricket, you can have rain that can interrupt and cause draws and things. But retaining it, not letting the other team have the trophy I think can be a win, so therefore, sometimes the tie is still relevant in my mind."

Tyrrell Hatton didn't appear to have given the matter much thought as he eventually settled on a play-off that none of us had really considered.

"I would say tying is probably not ideal. I think it would be quite interesting if there was a way of putting in like a play-off, if that was to happen. I think it would be pretty exciting for fans, and it would certainly create a pretty epic atmosphere," explained the Englishman.

"Playing in front of home fans is always special, anyway, but yeah, I think that would add something to it. I think you probably have the time to do it because singles you start fairly late in the day compared to fourballs and foursomes, but yeah, maybe just having the tee times starting a bit earlier on Sunday would allow for, I don't know, a nine-hole betterball, two players bestball sort of play-off format.

"I don't know, I'm just like sort of thinking as I speak kind of thing."