The Ryder Cup is named after Samuel Ryder, an Egnlish businessman and keen amateur golfer. In 1926 Ryder saw a professional golf tournament at Wentworth in Surrey (this golf club is still in existence). He was so impressed with it that he felt there should be a regular tournament with a special trophy; and he provided the Ryder Cup, a gold trophy which cost about £250 at the time. It has a small figure of a golfer on top, which Ryder intended as a tribute to his own instructor, former top player Abe Mitchell. The Ryder cup tournament was held every two years, as it still is today.
For 22 tournaments the only contestants for the cup were Great Britain, Ireland and the US. In 1979 a European team joined in; Europe have won half the matches held since then.
You can see a complete history of the Ryder Cup and a list of all the matches and their results here.