One of the fixtures of Ryder Cups of past and present is Michael Jordan. We know how much MJ loves golf—playing nearly every day down in Florida at his own golf club Grove XXIII—but his love for the game extends to the Ryder Cup. He has fostered friendships with some of the mainstays of Team USA like Fred Couples, with Freddie even making MJ an assistant captain at a past Presidents Cup (below).
At the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, MJ’s huge fist pump after a Dustin Johnson birdie was caught on camera, as if Team USA needed any more adrenaline after its romp.
https://twitter.com/GolfDigest/status/1441500900090990593
Even Paul Casey went up to say hello to MJ mid-match, telling Golf Channel: “I don’t care if I’m up or down, I’m definitely saying hi to Michael Jordan.”
Michael Jordan and his buddy Ahmad Rashad soaking in the action on Friday of the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.
Stacy Revere
There are few better American cheerleaders than the iconic former basketball player, whose shoes are now a staple on the PGA Tour and in pro shops around the world.
Here’s photo evidence of MJ at every Ryder Cup … going all the way back to 1999.
Last time at Le Golf National in 2018:
Mike Ehrmann
Tiger sharing a laugh with Sergio Garcia in 2018 — while making Sergio look rather tiny.
Mike Ehrmann
Sharing a laugh with another European Ryder Cup star.
Andrew Redington
MJ taking in the action in the last Team USA win in 2016:
Montana Pritchard/PGA of America
Scott Halleran
Mike Ehrmann
Applauding the action, cigar in hand, at Gleneagles in 2014:
Ross Kinnaird
Hanging with his buddy Keegan Bradley at Gleneagles:
David Cannon
Hanging at Medinah in 2012, where he used to play a lot of his golf in Chicago:
Montana Pritchard/PGA of America
Fighting for the best view at Celtic Manor in 2010:
TIMOTHY A. CLARY
How about this photo from the 2009 Presidents Cup, where MJ was an assistant captain (peep the earpiece). We wish footage of MJ behind the scenes with Tiger and the squad is made available some day.
Warren Little
Hanging with Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal, a Ryder Cup assistant captain, at Valhalla in 2008:
Ross Kinnaird
Cigar in hand, per usual, in 2006 at K Club:
Ross Kinnaird
How about this GOAT sighting … MJ, NHL legend Mario Lemieux and his buddy and former broadcast Ahmad Rashad (who’s also at Whistling Straits Friday):
Al Messerschmidt
And this might be the best photo of all, chatting with another iconic figure, the late Payne Stewart, at Brookline in 1999:
JEFF HAYNES
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
