[1] The St Andrews Trophy is staged alternately in Great Britain & Ireland and on the Continent, and is organised by The R&A (an offshoot of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews) and the European Golf Association.
The first event was held at Wentworth on 20 and 21 October 1956 and followed a similar format to that used for the Joy Cup which featured professional golfers.
[2][3] The second event was held at Golf de Saint-Cloud in France on 2 and 3 October 1958, retaining the same format as in 1956.
With 12 players from the Rest of Europe attending, it was decided to extend the format to include six foursomes and twelve singles, all 12 in each team playing both days.
[9][10] The next tournament was held on 31 July and 1 August 1964 at Muirfield and was the first time the St Andrews trophy was contested.
[14][15][16] Portmarnock Golf Club in Ireland was the host for the 1968 match, held on 2 and 3 August.
The match was very one-sided with Great Britain and Ireland leading 12½–2½ after the first day and winning 20–10, despite losing the final singles 6–4.
The second set of singles was tied to give Great Britain and Ireland a 19½–10½ win, their ninth successive victory.
[21][22] The Continent of Europe had their first success on 2 and 3 August 1974 at Golf Club Punta Ala on the Tuscan coast in Italy.
[27][28] Royal St George's Golf Club hosted the 1980 match, played on 27 and 28 June.
Great Britain and Ireland led 12–3 after the first day and had ensured success after leading 16–4 after the second-day foursomes.
[32] The 1984 match, played on 30 and 31 May at Saunton Golf Club, was the first time the Continent came close to winning in Britain.
The Continent had an immediate disadvantage when Anders Haglund, who had the inaugural European Amateur earlier in the year, had to withdraw because of illness.