Nick Faldo stands at the top of the tree among the British golfing superstars who have lit up the Ryder Cup with their stirring performances.

He is the most successful Ryder Cup player ever, having won the most points of any player on either team, represented the European team a record 11 times and played a key role in making Europe competitive in the event.

Having won 23 of his matches, lost 19, and halved four, he has played in more Ryder Cup matches than any other player and is one of only six players to have scored a hole-in-one in the tournament.

Neil Coles, who subsequently became PGA European Tour chairman, played in a total of 40 Ryder Cup matches in his eight tournaments, winning 12, at a time when the British were regularly being dominated by their American rivals.

More recently, Colin Montgomerie has emerged as a figurehead for the European side, having been a member on eight occasions without ever losing a singles match. He has a total points tally of 23.5, only narrowly putting him behind Faldo's record.

Montgomerie has played pivotal roles in several Ryder Cups. He halved the last hole with Scott Hoch to obtain the half-point that won Europe the Cup in 1997 and sank the winning putt in 2004.

Montgomerie was not part of Nick Faldo's 2008 Ryder Cup team, with the wild-card places on the side going to Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, but he is to captain the European team at the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.