1969 Ryder Cup
| Dates | 18–20 September 1969 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Royal Birkdale Golf Club | ||||
| Location | Southport, England | ||||
| Captains |
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| United States retains the Ryder Cup | |||||
The 18th Ryder Cup Matches were held 18–20 September 1969 at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. The competition ended in a draw at 16 points each, when America's Jack Nicklaus conceded a missable putt to Britain's Tony Jacklin at the 18th hole[1] 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.[2][3][4]
The tournament was 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.[2] During one of the fourballs on the second day, both captains had to come out and calm down the warring players.[5] This led to Nicklaus conceding Jacklin's final putt with the knowledge that the tournament would end in a draw.[2][3]
Nicklaus' gesture became known as "the concession" and marked the beginning of a lasting friendship between Nicklaus and Jacklin that has spanned more than 40 years. It was the inspiration for The Concession Golf Club, near Sarasota, Florida, which was co-designed by the two players.
Contents
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:
- Day 1 — 8 foursomes (alternate shot) matches, 4 each in morning and afternoon sessions
- Day 2 — 8 four-ball (better ball) matches, 4 each in morning and afternoon sessions
- Day 3 — 16 singles matches, 8 each in morning and afternoon sessions
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: [6]
 Team Great Britain |
|||||
| Name | Age | Previous Ryder Cups |
Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Eric Brown |
44 | Non-playing captain | |||
 Peter Alliss |
38 | 7 | 27 | 10–13–4 | 44.44 |
| Brian Barnes |
24 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Maurice Bembridge |
24 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Peter Butler |
37 | 1 | 5 | 0–3–2 | 20.00 |
| Alex Caygill |
29 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Neil Coles |
34 | 4 | 21 | 7–11–3 | 40.48 |
| Bernard Gallacher |
20 | 0 | Rookie | ||
 Brian Huggett |
32 | 2 | 10 | 3–5–2 | 40.00 |
| Bernard Hunt |
39 | 7 | 26 | 6–15–5 | 32.69 |
| Tony Jacklin |
25 | 1 | 6 | 2–3–1 | 41.67 |
 Christy O'Connor Snr |
44 | 7 | 23 | 7–15–1 | 32.61 |
| 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.[7][8] 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.
 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
|
Results |  |
|---|---|---|
| Coles/Huggett |  3 & 2 |
Barber/Floyd |
| Gallacher/Bembridge | 2 & 1 |
Trevino/Still |
| Jacklin/Townsend | 3 & 1 |
Hill/Aaron |
| O'Connor/Alliss | halved | Casper/Beard |
| 3½ | Session | ½ |
| 3½ | Overall | ½ |
Afternoon foursomes
|
Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Coles/Huggett |  1 up |
Hill/Aaron |
| Gallacher/Bembridge | 1 up |
Trevino/Littler |
| Jacklin/Townsend | 1 up |
Casper/Beard |
| Butler/Hunt | 1 up |
Nicklaus/Sikes |
| 1 | Session | 3 |
| 4½ | Overall | 3½ |
Friday's matches
Morning four-ball
|
Results | |
|---|---|---|
| O'Connor/Townsend | 1 up |
Hill/Douglass |
| Huggett/Caygill | halved | Floyd/Barber |
| Barnes/Alliss | 1 up |
Trevino/Littler |
| Jacklin/Coles | 1 up |
Nicklaus/Sikes |
| 2½ | Session | 1½ |
| 7 | Overall | 5 |
Afternoon four-ball
|
Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Butler/Townsend | 2 up |
Casper/Beard |
| Huggett/Gallacher | 2 & 1 |
Hill/Still |
| Bembridge/Hunt | halved | Aaron/Floyd |
| Jacklin/Coles | halved | Trevino/Barber |
| 1 | Session | 3 |
| 8 | Overall | 8 |
Saturday's matches
Morning singles
|
Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Alliss | 2 & 1 |
Lee Trevino |
| Peter Townsend | 5 & 4 |
Dave Hill |
| Neil Coles | 1 up |
Tommy Aaron |
| Brian Barnes | 1 up |
Billy Casper |
| Christy O'Connor | 5 & 4 |
Frank Beard |
| Maurice Bembridge | 1 up |
Ken Still |
| Peter Butler | 1 up |
Raymond Floyd |
| Tony Jacklin | 4 & 3 |
Jack Nicklaus |
| 5 | Session | 3 |
| 13 | Overall | 11 |
Afternoon singles
|
Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Barnes | 4 & 2 |
Dave Hill |
| Bernard Gallacher | 4 & 3 |
Lee Trevino |
| Maurice Bembridge | 7 & 6 |
Miller Barber |
| Peter Butler | 3 & 2 |
Dale Douglass |
| Neil Coles | 4 & 3 |
Dan Sikes |
| Christy O'Connor | 2 & 1 |
Gene Littler |
| Brian Huggett | halved | Billy Casper |
| Tony Jacklin | halved | Jack Nicklaus |
| 3 | Session | 5 |
| 16 | Overall | 16 |
Individual player records
Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.
Source: [6]
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
- ↑ Ryder Cup Climax of Breath-Taking Excitement
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- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Ryder Cup History: 1969
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External links
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