The early PGA Cup matches, contested annually until 1984, made grim reading from a British and Irish standpoint as America seized a stranglehold on the Llandudno Trophy.
First played in 1973 at Pinehurst No.2 Course, America chalked up a 13-3 victory which set the tone for the next three encounters where they won comfortably.
GB&I's first significant impact on the matches came in 1977 during one of the best duels in PGA Cup history which was fought across Mission Hills in California.
Jack Hargreaves' GB&I team (pictured above), trailing by three points going into the final day, battled back to triumph 6-3 in the singles to force a draw - the first time since 1927 that a visiting Ryder Cup or PGA Cup team didn't go home a loser.
The following the year on the back of their heroics on US soil, GB&I finally notched up its first win - a fine 10½-6½ victory at St Mellion. Scotland's Alistair Thomson excelled, with two wins and a halved match.
That wasn't all. Twelve months later, at a windswept Castletown, Isle of Man, the second-day fourballs were the turning point, the home side winning three and halving one, and going on to extend the winning margin (12½-4½) by taking six of the nine singles. David Huish and Peter Butler were undefeated in their three outings. Huish made eight PGA Cup appearances and was to become captain of the PGA Cup team in 1988 but not before he set a record of 18 victories that still stands today.