“famous 5” outlines how five european golfers – born within 11 months of one another – helped revitalize the ryder cup and redefine the professional golf landscape. the film also details how the five (seve ballesteros, nick faldo, bernhard langer, sandy lyle, ian woosnam) would go on to world golf hall of fame careers, led by 16-combined major championships and a no. 1 world ranking (all but lyle). the history of the ryder cup is explored, highlighted by how the five (along with captain tony jacklin) left their indelible mark on the biennial competition that would evolve from an event incessantly dominated by the americans into what has become professional golf's biggest spectacle. as an article on thecomeback.com put it, “it wasn’t that long ago that the ryder cup teetered on the edge of irrelevance. the united states won 17 out of 18 ryder cups from 1935 through 1977, their lone defeat coming in 1957. then a few very important changes happened.”