The story and drama of the 2025 Rider Cup
DAY ONE – LET BATTLE COMMENCE
The first day of the Seniors annual 3 day Rider Cup competition was completed this morning. Derbyshire and Notts are tied at 6 points each.
Day 2 is next Tuesday. The match is too close to call.
See some of the competitors and Day 1 results below.
DAY TWO
Day 2 of the Seniors Rider Cup was completed in the rain today. Derbyshire had a good session taking 7.5 of the 12 points available. They now need 4.5 more from the 12 singles matches on Thursday to retain the Trophy.
THE FINAL DAY
The final, day 3, of the 2025 Seniors Rider Cup saw a tense and dramatic battle unfold on the well presented fairways and greens of Alfreton Golf Club on the morning of Thursday 29th May.
Derbyshire held a 13.5 to 10.5 lead over Nottinghamshire as the first of 12 pairs teed off at 9am. As the 2024 winners of the trophy they only needed 4.5 of the 12 available points to retain it, and the Derbyshire team, captained by Keith Hopkinson, were feeling quite confident.
Aware of this Notts captain, Mike Rapkin, put most of his ‘in form’ golfers out first in an attempt to gain some momentum and put pressure on Derbyshire’s tail. It paid off, with Notts winning 4 and halving 2 of the first 6 matches to take a 1 point lead! (15.5-14.5)
But Derbyshire weren’t about to relinquish their crown without a fight and the next 5 matches were shared at 2.5 points each. As a result everything hinged on the last match, a win for Derbyshire and they’d retain the trophy, a draw or win for Notts would see the trophy return to Robin Hood land.
It was now that Mike’s master stroke was revealed! He’d held himself back until the final pair!! With his team having put him in contention it was up to him to deliver the final blow, which he duly did by winning his match, and securing the Rider Cup for NOTTINGHAMSHIRE!
Details of all the Day 3 matches are attached, as is the year on year summary of who has won each of the 13 runnings of this much loved and hotly contested event, which Notts lead by 8 wins to 5
A breakdown of the AGC Rider cup results over the years