1969 Ryder Cup

18th Ryder Cup Matches
Dates 18–20 September 1969
Venue Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Location Southport, England
Captains
United Kingdom 16 16 United States
United States retains the Ryder Cup
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Location in England

The 18th Ryder Cup Matches were held 18–20 September 1969 at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.[1][2] The competition ended in a draw at 16 points each, when America's Jack Nicklaus conceded a missable three-foot (0.9 m) putt to Britain's Tony Jacklin at the 18th hole,[3][4] in one of the most famous gestures of sportsmanship in all of sport. It was the first draw in Ryder Cup history, and the United States team retained the Cup.[5][6][7]

The matches were marred by considerable acrimony and unsportsmanlike behavior by players on both sides. Britain's captain Eric Brown had instructed his players not to search for the opposition's ball if it ended up in the rough. American Ken Still, in the first-day foursomes, had deliberately and regularly stood too close to Briton Maurice Bembridge as he was putting.[5] During one of the fourballs on the second day, both captains had to come out and calm down the warring players.[8] This led to Nicklaus conceding Jacklin's final putt with the knowledge that the tournament would end in a draw.[5][6]

Playing in his first Ryder Cup at age 29, Nicklaus' gesture became known as "the concession" and marked the beginning of a lasting friendship between the two that has spanned more than 40 years. It was the inspiration for The Concession Golf Club near Sarasota, Florida, which was co-designed by Nicklaus and Jacklin.[9] The two were opposing captains in the competition in 1983 and 1987.

The U.S. team had only two players with previous Ryder Cup experience, Billy Casper and Gene Littler.[10] On the previous four teams, Arnold Palmer did not participate in 1969, but returned in 1971 and 1973.

Format

The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. From 1963 through 1971 the competition format was as follows:

With a total of 32 points, 16½ points were required to win the Cup, or 16 points were needed for the current champion to retain the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.

Teams

Source: [11]

United Kingdom Team Great Britain
Name Age Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Scotland Eric Brown 44 Non-playing captain
England Peter Alliss 38 7 27 10–13–4 44.44
Scotland Brian Barnes 24 0 Rookie
England Maurice Bembridge 24 0 Rookie
England Peter Butler 37 1 5 0–3–2 20.00
England Alex Caygill 29 0 Rookie
England Neil Coles 34 4 21 7–11–3 40.48
Scotland Bernard Gallacher 20 0 Rookie
Wales Brian Huggett 32 2 10 3–5–2 40.00
England Bernard Hunt 39 7 26 6–15–5 32.69
England Tony Jacklin 25 1 6 2–3–1 41.67
Republic of Ireland Christy O'Connor Snr 44 7 23 7–15–1 32.61
England Peter Townsend 23 0 Rookie

This was the first Ryder Cup for Nicklaus, age 29. Despite having won his seventh major title as a professional in 1967, eligibility rules set by the PGA prevented him from competing in previous editions.[12][13] He competed as a player through 1981, missing only the 1979 edition, and was the non-playing captain of the U.S. team in 1983 and 1987.

United States Team USA
Name Age Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Sam Snead 57 Non-playing captain
Tommy Aaron 32 0 Rookie
Miller Barber 38 0 Rookie
Frank Beard 30 0 Rookie
Billy Casper 38 4 19 12–3–4 73.68
Dale Douglass 33 0 Rookie
Raymond Floyd 27 0 Rookie
Dave Hill 32 0 Rookie
Gene Littler 39 4 18 6–4–8 55.56
Jack Nicklaus 29 0 Rookie
Dan Sikes 39 0 Rookie
Ken Still 34 0 Rookie
Lee Trevino 29 0 Rookie

Thursday's matches

Morning foursomes

United Kingdom Results United States
Coles/Huggett United Kingdom 3 & 2 Barber/Floyd
Gallacher/Bembridge United Kingdom 2 & 1 Trevino/Still
Jacklin/Townsend United Kingdom 3 & 1 Hill/Aaron
O'Connor/Alliss halved Casper/Beard
Session ½
Overall ½

Afternoon foursomes

United Kingdom Results United States
Coles/Huggett United States 1 up Hill/Aaron
Gallacher/Bembridge United States 1 up Trevino/Littler
Jacklin/Townsend United Kingdom 1 up Casper/Beard
Butler/Hunt United States 1 up Nicklaus/Sikes
1 Session 3
Overall

Friday's matches

Morning four-ball

United Kingdom Results United States
O'Connor/Townsend United Kingdom 1 up Hill/Douglass
Huggett/Caygill halved Floyd/Barber
Barnes/Alliss United States 1 up Trevino/Littler
Jacklin/Coles United Kingdom 1 up Nicklaus/Sikes
Session
7 Overall 5

Afternoon four-ball

United Kingdom Results United States
Butler/Townsend United States 2 up Casper/Beard
Huggett/Gallacher United States 2 & 1 Hill/Still
Bembridge/Hunt halved Aaron/Floyd
Jacklin/Coles halved Trevino/Barber
1 Session 3
8 Overall 8

Source:[14]

Saturday's matches

Morning singles

United Kingdom Results United States
Peter Alliss United States 2 & 1 Lee Trevino
Peter Townsend United States 5 & 4 Dave Hill
Neil Coles United Kingdom 1 up Tommy Aaron
Brian Barnes United States 1 up Billy Casper
Christy O'Connor United Kingdom 5 & 4 Frank Beard
Maurice Bembridge United Kingdom 1 up Ken Still
Peter Butler United Kingdom 1 up Raymond Floyd
Tony Jacklin United Kingdom 4 & 3 Jack Nicklaus
5 Session 3
13 Overall 11

Afternoon singles

United Kingdom Results United States
Brian Barnes United States 4 & 2 Dave Hill
Bernard Gallacher United Kingdom 4 & 3 Lee Trevino
Maurice Bembridge United States 7 & 6 Miller Barber
Peter Butler United Kingdom 3 & 2 Dale Douglass
Neil Coles United States 4 & 3 Dan Sikes
Christy O'Connor United States 2 & 1 Gene Littler
Brian Huggett halved Billy Casper
Tony Jacklin halved Jack Nicklaus
3 Session 5
16 Overall 16

Source:[2]

Individual player records

Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.

Source: [11]

Great Britain

Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Peter Alliss 0.5 0–2–1 0–1–0 0–0–1 0–1–0
Brian Barnes 0 0–3–0 0–2–0 0–0–0 0–1–0
Maurice Bembridge 2.5 2–2–1 1–1–0 1–1–0 0–0–1
Peter Butler 2 2–2–0 2–0–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Alex Caygill 0.5 0–0–1 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–1
Neil Coles 3.5 3–2–1 1–1–0 1–1–0 1–0–1
Bernard Gallacher 2 2–2–0 1–0–0 1–1–0 0–1–0
Brian Huggett 2 1–2–2 0–0–1 1–1–0 0–1–1
Bernard Hunt 0.5 0–1–1 0–0–0 0–1–0 0–0–1
Tony Jacklin 5 4–0–2 1–0–1 2–0–0 1–0–1
Christy O'Connor 2.5 2–1–1 1–1–0 0–0–1 1–0–0
Peter Townsend 3 3–2–0 0–1–0 2–0–0 1–1–0

United States

Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Tommy Aaron 1.5 1–2–1 0–1–0 1–1–0 0–0–1
Miller Barber 2 1–1–2 1–0–0 0–1–0 0–0–2
Frank Beard 1.5 1–2–1 0–1–0 0–1–1 1–0–0
Billy Casper 3 2–1–2 1–0–1 0–1–1 1–0–0
Dale Douglass 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0
Raymond Floyd 1 0–2–2 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–2
Dave Hill 4 4–2–0 2–0–0 1–1–0 1–1–0
Gene Littler 3 3–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Jack Nicklaus 1.5 1–2–1 0–1–1 1–0–0 0–1–0
Dan Sikes 2 2–1–0 1–0–0 1–0–0 0–1–0
Ken Still 1 1–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0
Lee Trevino 3.5 3–2–1 1–1–0 1–1–0 1–0–1

References

  1. Reedy, Thomas A. (14 September 1969). "Ryder Cup lures top golf pros". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 59.
  2. 1 2 Farrow, John (21 September 1969). "Jacklin gives Britain a tie for Ryder Cup". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 64.
  3. Farrow, John (9 October 1970). "Nicklaus and Jacklin meet". Gettysburg Times. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 13.
  4. Jacobs, Raymond (22 September 1969). "Ryder Cup climax of breath-taking excitement". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. p. 4.
  5. 1 2 3 "Price a reminder of the games sportsmanship". Golf Today. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  6. 1 2 Brown, Gwilym S. (29 September 1969). "A tie may be like kissing your sister...". Sports Illustrated. p. 67.
  7. "U.S., British golfers draw". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. 21 September 1969. p. 4B.
  8. Ryder Cup History: 1969
  9. Cardon, Mark (1 August 2002). "Nicklaus and Jacklin have history". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. p. 6C.
  10. Jacobs, Raymond (18 September 1969). "Gallacher paired with Bembridge in Ryder Cup". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. p. 6.
  11. 1 2 "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  12. "Media Guide: 1967 Ryder Cup". PGA of America. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  13. "Media Guide: 1969 Ryder Cup". PGA of America. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  14. "Yanks draw even with Britons, 8-8". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. September 20, 1969. p. 9.

External links

Coordinates: 53°37′17″N 3°01′57″W / 53.6215°N 3.0325°W / 53.6215; -3.0325

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