Sky Sports Golf: Ryder Cup and The Open make the all-time highlights

By Sky Sports Golf

Image: Sergio Garcia became the sixth consecutive maiden major winner in April

Ahead of a new devoted golf channel coming to Sky Sports, we take a look back at some of the memorable golfing highlights from the sport's time on our channels.

We have witnessed plenty of British and European success during more than a quarter of a century of live golf on Sky, with even more coverage to look forward to in the months and years ahead.

From dramatic finishes to special shots and rounds, we delved into the archives to pick out three of the standout tournaments through the years…

2012 Ryder Cup

Image: Rory McIlroy was part of Europe's winning team at Medinah

Europe staged the greatest fightback in Ryder Cup history to retain the trophy with a dramatic 14.5-13.5 victory at Medinah.

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The United States started Sunday's singles needing just four-and-a-half points to reclaim the trophy, but Europe's heroes won eight of the 12 matches and halved the last to leave the home team shell-shocked.

Martin Kaymer claimed the crucial 14th point for Jose Maria Olazabal's side when he held his nerve to sink a knee-knocking six-foot putt, securing a one-up victory over Steve Stricker.

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Image: Olazabal (L) captained the side at Medinah

The 39th contest looked set to end 14-14 with Francesco Molinari one down after 17 to Tiger Woods, who then missed a three-footer for par and generously conceded the hole to the Italian.

2016 The Open

Henrik Stenson created Open and major history with his phenomenal performance in winning The 145th Open with a final-round 63 at Royal Troon.

Stenson and Phil Mickelson thrilled the vast galleries on a memorable Open Sunday as they put a huge chasm between themselves and the rest of the field, with the Swede pulling away to end an epic duel three shots clear.

Image: Stenson finished 14 strokes clear of JB Holmes in third place

The 40-year-old became the first Scandinavian player to win a major title, and he was only the second in history to fire a final-day 63 to do so - emulating the feat of Johnny Miller when he stormed to the US Open title at Oakmont in 1973.

Stenson's winning score of 20 under was a new Open record in relation to par, eclipsing the 19 under par total set by Tiger Woods at St Andrews in 2000.

2017 Masters

Sergio Garcia claimed a sensational maiden major title at the 74th attempt after edging out Justin Rose in a play-off on a memorable final day at the 81st Masters.

Image: Rose and Garcia both ended the week on nine under

Garcia produced a remarkable comeback after seeing a three-shot lead turn into a two-shot deficit with seven holes to play, and the pair both missed great birdie chances on the 72nd hole to take the enthralling duel into sudden-death.

But after returning to the 18th tee, Rose pushed his drive into the pines and could only scuff his second a few yards up the fairway which led to a bogey, and Garcia held his nerve to find the heart of the green in two and hole the putt for victory.

The high emotions were evident as the Spaniard reflected on finally shedding the tag of "best player without a major", and he did so on what would have been the 60th birthday of his childhood idol, Seve Ballesteros.

What has been your favourite golfing moment live on Sky Sports? Tweet in your suggestions to @SkySportsGolf!

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