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How does the Ryder Cup differ from an individual golf tournament?

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Tiger Woods follows through on his golf swing after teeing off, standing in tall grass with spectators watching in the background at St Andrews Golf Links. — golf American golfer Tiger Woods competing at the British Open (Open Championship) at St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, 2005.

The Ryder Cup differs from standard professional golf tournaments primarily in its format and objective. While most professional events are individual competitions decided by stroke play—where the winner is the player with the lowest total score over several rounds—the Ryder Cup is a biennial team-based event that utilizes match play.12

Key differences include:

Team vs. Individual: In a typical tournament, golfers compete as individuals against the entire field. In the Ryder Cup, players are organized into two teams—the United States and Europe—with each match worth one point toward their team's total.12
Format: The competition features specific team formats, including foursomes (partners taking alternate strokes with one ball) and four-ball (partners playing their own balls, with the team counting the better score on each hole), alongside traditional singles matches.12
Scoring: In stroke play, a single poor hole can ruin a player's total score and cost them the tournament. In the Ryder Cup's match play format, a high score on a hole results only in the loss of that specific hole, rather than a cumulative penalty that affects the entire event.2