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1931 Ryder Cup

Golf tournament in the United States


Golf tournament in the United States

FieldValue
nameRyder Cup
year1931
logo1931RyderCupCover.jpg
datesJune 26–27, 1931
venueScioto Country Club
locationColumbus, Ohio
homeUSA
awayGreat Britain
homecaptainWalter Hagen
awaycaptainCharles Whitcombe
homescore9
awayscore3
resultUnited States wins

|USA |USA Ohio The 3rd Ryder Cup Matches were held June 26–27, 1931 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. The United States team won the competition by a score of 9 to 3 points.

The course was the venue for U.S. Open in 1926, won by amateur Bobby Jones, the second of his four titles. It later hosted the PGA Championship in 1950. Scioto is also noteworthy as the club where Jack Nicklaus learned to play as a youth in the 1950s.

Format

The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. From 1927 through 1959, the format consisted of 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches on the first day and 8 singles matches on the second day, for a total of 12 points. Therefore, 6 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 36 holes.

Teams

Source:

Prior to the match, there was some controversy about the qualification rules for the Great Britain team. In 1927 and 1929 the American PGA had decided to only select American born and resident players but the original Ryder Cup Deed of Trust made no such provision. All members of the Professional Golfers' Association were eligible. In late 1929 the Deed of Trust was revised requiring players to be born in and resident in their respective countries. This rule disqualified Percy Alliss and Aubrey Boomer, two of Great Britain's best players, as they had both taken jobs as club professionals in mainland Europe.

NameAgePrevious
Ryder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinning
percentage
Walter Hagen – captain38243–1–075.00
Billy Burke280Rookie
Wiffy Cox340Rookie
Leo Diegel32243–1–075.00
Al Espinosa40221–0–175.00
Johnny Farrell30242–1–162.50
Gene Sarazen29241–2–137.50
Denny Shute260Rookie
Horton Smith23111–0–0100.00
Craig Wood290Rookie

In early 1931, it was announced that a selection committee of five would choose the Great Britain team for the 1931 Ryder Cup. This committee consisted of George Oke, Charles Whitcombe, Charles Corlett, Dick Wheildon and Albert Haskins. Charles Whitcombe was announced as the captain. An initial squad of 24 was announced.

Henry Cotton objected to a team rule requiring all players to travel out together and return together. Cotton wished to remain in the United States after the match. As a consequence Cotton was withdrawn from the squad.

Four trial matches were played in which the new American sized ball was used, and in early May a further six players were selected: Compston, Davies, Jolly, Mitchell, Robson and Ernest Whitcombe. Duncan and Easterbrook were later added. During the final day of The Open Championship, Cotton was again asked whether he would play under the original conditions but again declined and the following day Hodson was announced as the final selection. In a further statement the same day it was announced that Herbert Jolly had withdrawn because of a lack of form and had been replaced by Havers. Jolly had scored 84 and 78 in the Open Championship qualifying the previous week.

The British team sailed on June 10 following a farewell dinner the previous evening.

NameAgePrevious
Ryder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinning
percentage
ENG Charles Whitcombe – captain35242–0–275.00
ENG Archie Compston38241–2–137.50
ENG Bill Davies390Rookie
SCO George Duncan47242–2–050.00
ENG Syd Easterbrook260Rookie
ENG Arthur Havers33120–2–00.00
WAL Bert Hodson250Rookie
ENG Abe Mitchell44121–1–050.00
ENG Fred Robson46241–3–025.00
ENG Ernest Whitcombe40120–1–125.00

Friday's foursome matches

GBRResultsUSA1Overall3
Compston/DaviesUSA 8 & 7**Sarazen/Farrell**
Duncan/HaversUSA 10 & 9**Hagen/Shute**
**Mitchell/Robson**GBR 3 & 1Diegel/Espinosa
Easterbrook/E. WhitcombeUSA 3 & 2**Burke/Cox**
1Session3

Saturday's singles matches

GBRResultsUSA3Overall9
Archie CompstonUSA 7 & 6**Billy Burke**
Fred RobsonUSA 7 & 6**Gene Sarazen**
**Bill Davies**GBR 4 & 3Johnny Farrell
Abe MitchellUSA 3 & 1**Wiffy Cox**
Charles WhitcombeUSA 4 & 3**Walter Hagen**
Bert HodsonUSA 8 & 6**Denny Shute**
Ernest WhitcombeUSA 2 & 1**Al Espinosa**
**Arthur Havers**GBR 4 & 3Craig Wood
2Session6

Individual player records

Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.

Source:

United States

PlayerPointsOverallSinglesFoursomes
Billy Burke22–0–01–0–0
Wiffy Cox22–0–01–0–0
Leo Diegel00–1–00–0–0
Al Espinosa11–1–01–0–0
Johnny Farrell11–1–00–1–0
Walter Hagen22–0–01–0–0
Gene Sarazen22–0–01–0–0
Denny Shute22–0–01–0–0
Craig Wood00–1–00–1–0

Horton Smith did not play in any matches.

Great Britain

PlayerPointsOverallSinglesFoursomes
Archie Compston00–2–00–1–00–1–0
Bill Davies11–1–01–0–00–1–0
George Duncan00–1–00–0–00–1–0
Syd Easterbrook00–1–00–0–00–1–0
Arthur Havers11–1–01–0–00–1–0
Bert Hodson00–1–00–1–00–0–0
Abe Mitchell11–1–00–1–01–0–0
Fred Robson11–1–00–1–01–0–0
Charles Whitcombe00–1–00–1–00–0–0
Ernest Whitcombe00–2–00–1–00–1–0

References

References

  1. "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide".
  2. Fry, Peter. (July 2000). "Samuel Ryder: The Man Behind the Ryder Cup". Wright Press.
  3. "The Ryder Cup". ''The Times'', Tuesday, January 13, 1931; pg. 7; Issue 45719; col D.
  4. "The Ryder Cup". ''The Times'', Wednesday, January 21, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45726; col B.
  5. "The Ryder Cup Team". ''The Times'', Tuesday, February 10, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45743; col E.
  6. "Cotton and The Ryder Cup Team". ''The Times'', Tuesday, February 17, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45749; col F.
  7. "The Ryder Cup Team". ''The Times'', Wednesday, May 6, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45815; col E.
  8. "The Ryder Cup Team". ''The Times'', The Times, Saturday, May 16, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45824; col C.
  9. "The Ryder Cup Team". ''The Times'', The Times, Saturday, June 6, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45842.
  10. "The Ryder Cup Team". ''The Times'', The Times, Monday, June 8, 1931; pg. 7; Issue 45843.
  11. "Ryder Cup Team - The Duke of York at farewell dinner". ''The Times'', The Times, Wednesday, June 10, 1931; pg. 14; Issue 45845.
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