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.

Format

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

Originally the Rest of Europe team was selected by the European Golf Association while the British team was selected and captain by Henry Cotton. 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.

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.

Results

YearDatesVenueWinnersScoreBritish Isles captainRest of Europe captainRef
195413–14 NovemberSaint-Cloud, FranceBritish Isles101⁄2–41⁄2Henry CottonFlory Van Donck
195524–25 SeptemberRoyal Lytham, EnglandBritish Isles9–6Henry Cotton (non-playing)Flory Van Donck
19566–7 OctoberRoyal Antwerp, BelgiumBritish Isles91⁄2–21⁄2Henry CottonFlory Van Donck
195719–20 OctoberBarcelona, SpainCancelled
195822–23 OctoberMadrid, SpainBritish Isles91⁄2–51⁄2Dai ReesFlory Van Donck

Appearances

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

British Isles

Rest of Europe