The 77th edition of the SJA British Sports Awards – the longest-established awards of their kind in Britain – will take place on Tuesday, November 11, 2025; for the second consecutive year, the Awards will be announced live on Sky Sports News; SJA members voted to decide the big three prizes on offer; our SJA Academy members made their cases for the awards…
Winning an away Ryder Cup is one of the toughest challenges in sport.
It demands unity, resilience, and an unwavering belief that a team can silence thousands of baying American fans praying and screaming for their downfall.
Team Europe did exactly that at Bethpage Black in September, clinching a dramatic 15-13 victory over the United States to win and retain the Ryder Cup on American soil for the first time in more than a decade.
Captain Luke Donald’s side entered the final day with a commanding 12-5 lead, yet the challenge that awaited them on Sunday was unlike anything else in golf.
The partisan New York crowd was relentless. Players were jeered on the tee, heckled mid-putt, and Rory McIlroy’s wife was even struck by a drink thrown from the stands.
But the team had prepared for this, using virtual reality headsets during the lead-up to the competition to replicate the predicted abuse. This attention to detail speaks volumes about how committed this team were to getting a result in New York.
And it paid off. Europe maintained their composure and held firm under huge levels of hostility, especially when the US mounted a fierce final-day comeback, narrowing the deficit and threatening one of the biggest turnarounds in the competition’s history.
Europe’s collective grit kept them standing all weekend, and the final day went down to the wire.
Ludvig Åberg’s win over Patrick Cantlay and Shane Lowry’s nerveless birdie-putt on the 18th hole to retain the trophy on day three were moments that encapsulated the team’s calm under pressure nature.
Tyrrell Hatton sealed the deal with his half point against Collin Morikawa to give Europe an outright victory, a win that sparked jubilant but hard-earned celebrations.
The triumph also cemented captain Donald’s place in history. He became only the second European captain, after Tony Jacklin, to win back-to-back Ryder Cups.
His leadership, defined by quiet confidence and meticulous planning, built a team culture where veterans like McIlroy and Justin Rose thrived alongside rookies such as Rasmus Højgaard.
The result was a unified, disciplined side capable of withstanding one of the most testing atmospheres golf has ever seen.
McIlroy’s words after the win summed it up best. “When you think about the last away Ryder Cup, about what people were saying about decades of American dominance, we’ve done it in Rome and then here, it shut a lot of people up,” he said.
Europe’s victory was not just about reclaiming a trophy.
It was about defying the odds, finding class in chaos and proving once again that the Ryder Cup’s greatest force is a team bonded by trust, pride, and unshakeable belief.
Izzy Gilligan is a member of the SJA Academy for media professionals starting their careers. Click here to join.