Forty years ago, the tides started to change in the Ryder Cup.

In the first 24 editions of the event, the Americans dominated, losing only three times and tying in 1969. But 1983 at PGA National was the dawn of a new era.

It was Jack Nicklaus' first run as U.S. captain, as well as the first of four consecutive captainships for Tony Jacklin. No European team had ever won on U.S. soil, and though Nicklaus kept that streak alive with a 14½-13½ victory, the Europeans gave the Americans a strong push and showed that the event would never be the same.

Now, four decades later, here’s a look back on the significant 1983 Ryder Cup, from the key players to the pivotal moments:

The Scene

In 1969, Nicklaus and Jacklin were part of arguably the Ryder Cup's most iconic moment — “The Concession.”

At Royal Birkdale, Nicklaus and Jacklin were playing in the final singles match. Tied on the 18th hole, Nicklaus had a chance to clinch the cup after Jacklin’s birdie putt came up 3 feet short, but Nicklaus ran his own birdie try 5 feet too long.

He made the come-backer, however, when Nicklaus took his ball from the hole, he picked up Jacklin’s ball mark, conceding the final putt and guaranteeing the Ryder Cup would end in a tie for the first time ever.

"I don't believe you would have missed that, but I'd never give you the opportunity in these circumstances," Nicklaus told Jacklin afterward.

In the six ensuing Ryder Cups, no European team had come within five points of a tie, let alone a win. So four months before the 1983 matches (yes, four), Jacklin accepted the captainship of Team Europe and was going head to head with the man whom he shared "The Concession" with, Nicklaus.

But after many years of heartbreak for the Europeans, Jacklin wasn't just tasked with captaining his squad at PGA National — the two-time major winner needed to change the culture of the European team.

The Stars

The Americans, per usual, had a loaded team with major winners Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller, Raymond Floyd, Craig Stadler and Lanny Wadkins, who had a career Ryder Cup record of 7-1-0. The team was also composed of future major champions Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite, along with five rookies — Jay Haas, Curtis Strange, Calvin Peete, Bob Gilder and Stadler.

The Europeans, meanwhile, served as a legit threat, boasting Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Bernard Gallacher, Ian Woosnam, Sam Torrance Sandy Lyle and the return of Seve Ballesteros, who missed the '81 matches but had won the '83 Masters. At the time, Ballesteros was the only team member who was a major winner. But 40 years later, that’s certainly not the case anymore.

"We knew, even if the rest of America didn't, we were going to have to have our absolute best if we were going to keep the Cup," Crenshaw said years later.

The Turning Point

The matches were tied 8-8 going into Sunday Singles matches, where the contest would be decided.

Jacklin, in an unprecedented move, sent out his best players early, while Nicklaus saved his best for last.

The signature match of the day, though, was the first, Ballesteros vs. Zoeller. The Spaniard was 3 up at the turn but Zoeller would erase the deficit. All square on the par-5 18th, Ballesteros needed to salvage par with a 3-wood from the fairway bunker. His shot, some say, barely touched a grain of sand and traveled 245 yards to end up left of the green. Zoeller reached the green in three and hit his birdie try close. Then, Ballesteros chipped off the fringe to 6 feet and sank his par putt to halve the match.

With 10 matches complete, the teams were tied at 13. Therefore, the Ryder Cup came down to the last two matches — Lanny Wadkins vs. Jose MariaCanizares and Tom Watson vs. Bernard Gallacher.

The Result

Out of all of the shots hit throughout the week, one stands out from the rest. On the par-5 finishing hole, Wadkins hit his third shot to 18 inches and Canizares sent his par try from the edge of the green past the hole before conceding Wadkins’ tap-in. Wadkins won the hole to halve the match and earn a critical half-point for the Americans.

So, it all came down to Watson-Gallacher with the Ryder Cup tied at 13½. On the par-3 17th, with Watson 1 up, they both missed the green with their tee shots. Watson chipped on but missed his par attempt and Gallacher failed to get on the green with his second shot, but knocked his third to 3 feet. However, he missed his bogey attempt.

The Americans were once again victorious.

“A bigger thrill than anything I’ve ever done in the game of golf,” Nicklaus said afterward. “There towards the end, walking down the fairway with my players, tears were running down my face.”

But with the Ryder Cup being nationally televised in America for the first time ever (two hours on tape delay by ABC on Sunday), Jacklin’s squad pushed the U.S. Team to the brink and helped change the event from a one-sided affair to one of the marquee events in all of sports. That itself was a win.

"We had lost by a single point and were devastated,'' Jacklin told ESPN in 2016. "But Seve recognized we shouldn't be so sad. He said, 'This is a victory for us.' It was the best we'd ever done in America by miles. Of course, it still hurt. But he was right. We took a giant step that year.”

The Legacy

It wouldn’t take long for the Europeans to shake off their defeat in 1983.

In Jacklin’s second go-around as captain, he led the team to a 16½-11½ win at The Belfry, before handing the Americans their first-ever loss at home in 1987 as Nicklaus captained the U.S. his own course (Muirfield Village). To close out the decade, the two teams tied 14-14 at The Belfry in Jacklin’s swan song.

Since 1983, the Europeans have won 11 Ryder Cups, to the Americans’ six, flipping the script on the first half-century of Ryder Cup golf.

Getting to this point began 40 years ago, even though it was the Americans who emerged victorious.