Of all the international golfing events which take place, the Ryder Cup seems to have most appeal in the minds of the general public. There is something about a team game. Tournaments are personal triumphs but the outcomes of golf are of little interest to anyone outside the confines of golfing aficionados, the obvious exception being Tiger Woods’ comeback victory in Atlanta.

This weekend’s Ryder Cup, held for the first time in France, was exciting despite the comfortable European victory, but a little look into history shows that this has not always been the result. Founded in 1927, there has been 42 matches to date, with team USA remaining a constant through the changing structure of team GB. The most significant change to team GB occurred in 1979 when golfers from continental Europe were included, creating team Europe. When reviewing the history of the tournament there are some interesting match facts:

• When the Ryder Cup was between USA and Great Britain & Ireland (1927-1977), there were 22 matches in total. The USA won 19, and of the three matches that GB won, none were on US soil.
• Following the creation of team Europe there have been 20 matches, with USA winning 8 and Europe winning a much more impressive 12.

Pre-1979, the tournament was predictable and on the brink of irrelevancy when the decision was made to open it up to the European tour. Since then, it has become a balanced, serious competition with Europe narrowly edging ahead over the years.

It seems there is a lesson to be learned from the Ryder Cup, the moral of the story is that it pays for smaller countries to club together to make a level playing-field. In the modern world, trying to do things on your own can be fraught with problems. In some respects, the Ryder Cup and recent success of Europe can be considered a reflection of foreign policy, it highlights a contrast between political approaches. There is the “America First” approach, prioritising one’s own interests with a strong sense of patriotism. On the other hand there is a collaborative approach, with a real sense of teamwork. At Jackson Lees we practice the latter; the collaborative approach. We believe that teamwork is the soul of our business and through this we strive to ‘Make a Positive Difference’ to our clients lives. Whether you liaise with our Front of House staff, our Telephony team, our solicitors or management, your experience with us will be consistent and collaborative.

So, with the 29th March only six months away, we appear to be getting nowhere. The Irish border issue seems to be without immediate solution. Even if Europe were to give way in this issue, our political establishment on both wings seems divided. The world of post-Brexit Britain is mythical to say the least, but from the Ryder Cup we can take away the notion that even through adversity and immense uncertainty – working together is better than working alone.