The Joy Cup was an annual men's professional team golf competition between teams representing the British Isles and the Rest of Europe. It was played from 1954 to 1958. The British Isles won all four contests that were played. The trophy was provided by the Jean Patou company and named after Joy perfume that they produced. The concept of a match between Great Britain/Ireland and Continental Europe was revived with the Hennessy Cognac Cup in 1974.

Joy Cup
Tournament information
Established1954
FormatTeam match play
Final year1958
Final champion
British Isles

Format

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The cup was contested over two days with 36-hole foursomes on the first day and 36-hole singles matches on the second day. Generally there were 5 foursomes and 10 singles except that in 1956 there were only 4 foursomes and 8 singles.

History

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Originally the Rest of Europe team was selected by the European Golf Association while the British team was selected and captain by Henry Cotton.[1] In early 1957, the EGA agreed with the PGA that the PGA would take over from Cotton. A match was planned for 19 and 20 October 1957 in Barcelona but was not held, the 1957 Ryder Cup and the Canada Cup being held in the same month.[2]

In January 1960 it was announced that the Joy Cup had been discontinued. The Jean Patou company withdrew the gold cup that the winners had received.[3]

Results

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Year Dates Venue Winners Score British Isles captain Rest of Europe captain Ref
1954 13–14 November Saint-Cloud, France British Isles 1012–412 Henry Cotton Flory Van Donck [4][5]
1955 24–25 September Royal Lytham, England British Isles 9–6 Henry Cotton
(non-playing)
Flory Van Donck [6]
1956 6–7 October Royal Antwerp, Belgium British Isles 912–212 Henry Cotton Flory Van Donck [7]
1957 19–20 October Barcelona, Spain Cancelled
1958 22–23 October Madrid, Spain British Isles 912–512 Dai Rees Flory Van Donck [8][9]

Appearances

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The following are those who played in at least one of the four matches.

British Isles

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Rest of Europe

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References

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  1. ^ "British Professional Team for Antwerp Match". The Glasgow Herald. 5 September 1956. p. 4.
  2. ^ "Joy Cup team selectors". The Glasgow Herald. 6 February 1957. p. 4.
  3. ^ "Joy Cup match decision". The Glasgow Herald. 20 January 1960. p. 4.
  4. ^ "British golf victory – Cotton's value as captain". The Times. 15 November 1954. p. 3.
  5. ^ "British success at St Cloud – Panton and Brown win". The Glasgow Herald. 15 November 1954. p. 9.
  6. ^ "E C Brown wins after being five down – British golfers rally in singles". The Glasgow Herald. 26 September 1955. p. 9.
  7. ^ "British Isles team retain Joy Cup – Overwhelming win in singles". The Glasgow Herald. 8 October 1956. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Britain's narrow lead in Joy Cup match – foursomes win in Madrid". The Glasgow Herald. 23 October 1958. p. 4.
  9. ^ "Fourth successive Joy Cup win for Britain – Surprise rout of Weetman". The Glasgow Herald. 24 October 1958. p. 4.