what does 9&7 mean in golf

In golf, "9&7" refers to a score in a match play format where one player or team is 9 holes ahead with only 7 holes left to play. This means that the match ends there because the losing player or team cannot win enough holes to come back. The score of 9&7 is the biggest margin of victory ever in the Ryder Cup history. In match play, the score is reported as all square or even when the players tie, and otherwise, the score is 1-up or 1-down with the low scorer being up by the difference in strokes. If a player is 4-up with three holes to play, the opponent cant win enough holes to win the match, and the final match score will be recorded as 4 and 3, which means 4 ahead with 3 holes to play.