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1969 Ryder Cup

18th edition; golf tournament in England

1969 Ryder Cup

18th edition; golf tournament in England

FieldValue
nameRyder Cup
year1969
dates18–20 September 1969
venueRoyal Birkdale Golf Club
locationSouthport, England
homeGreat Britain
awayUSA
homecaptainEric Brown
awaycaptainSam Snead
homescore16
awayscore16
resultUnited States retains

|UK England 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 tie at 16 points each when America's Jack Nicklaus conceded a three-foot (0.9 m) putt to Britain's Tony Jacklin at the 18th hole, in one of the most famous gestures of sportsmanship in all of sports. It was the first tie in Ryder Cup history, and the United States team retained the Cup.

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. During one of the fourballs on the second day, both captains had to come out and calm down the warring players. This led to Nicklaus conceding Jacklin's final putt with the knowledge that the overall competition would end in a draw. On the previous hole, Jacklin sank a long eagle putt while Nicklaus missed his from 15 ft and the match was squared. Jacklin had won the Open Championship two months earlier at nearby Royal Lytham & St Annes to become the first British champion in eighteen years. After holing his final putt for par, Nicklaus picked up Jacklin's ball marker and told him, "I don't think you would have missed it, but I wasn't going to give you the chance, either."

Playing in his first Ryder Cup at age 29, Nicklaus' gesture became known as "the concession" and marked the beginning of a lasting friendship that has spanned nearly a half-century. It inspired The Concession Golf Club in Florida near Sarasota, which was co-designed by Nicklaus and Jacklin. The two were opposing captains in the competition in 1983 and 1987. While the concession is now viewed as one of the world's greatest acts of sportsmanship, U.S. captain Sam Snead was furious that the chance of outright victory had been given away.

The U.S. team had only two players with previous Ryder Cup experience, Billy Casper and Gene Littler. The team was the only one that Arnold Palmer was not a member of from his first appearance in 1961 through his final appearance in 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:

  • 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, 16 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:

Tony Jacklin's golf ball used in the 1969 Ryder Cup held at Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Six places in the team were allocated to the leaders of a points list after the 1969 Open Championship. An Order of Merit style system was used, with points earned over the previous 12 months, the best 7 performances to count. The leading six were O'Connor, Huggett, Butler, Townsend, Coles and Barnes. The remaining six places were chosen by the committee the following week.

NameAgePrevious
Ryder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinning
percentage
SCO Eric Brown44Non-playing captain
ENG Peter Alliss3872710–13–444.44
SCO Brian Barnes240Rookie
ENG Maurice Bembridge240Rookie
ENG Peter Butler37150–3–220.00
ENG Alex Caygill290Rookie
ENG Neil Coles344217–11–340.48
SCO Bernard Gallacher200Rookie
WAL Brian Huggett322103–5–240.00
ENG Bernard Hunt397266–15–532.69
ENG Tony Jacklin25162–3–141.67
IRL Christy O'Connor Snr447237–15–132.61
ENG Peter Townsend230Rookie

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. 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.

Lee Trevino's cap from the 1969 Ryder Cup played at Royal Birkdale Golf Club
NameAgePrevious
Ryder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinning
percentage
Sam Snead57Non-playing captain
Tommy Aaron320Rookie
Miller Barber380Rookie
Frank Beard300Rookie
Billy Casper3841912–3–473.68
Dale Douglass330Rookie
Raymond Floyd270Rookie
Dave Hill320Rookie
Gene Littler394186–4–855.56
Jack Nicklaus290Rookie
Dan Sikes390Rookie
Ken Still340Rookie
Lee Trevino290Rookie

Thursday's matches

Morning foursomes

GBRResultsUSA3Overall
**Coles/Huggett**GBR 3 & 2Barber/Floyd
**Gallacher/Bembridge**GBR 2 & 1Trevino/Still
**Jacklin/Townsend**GBR 3 & 1Hill/Aaron
O'Connor/AllisshalvedCasper/Beard
3Session

Afternoon foursomes

GBRResultsUSA4Overall3
Coles/HuggettUSA 1 up**Hill/Aaron**
Gallacher/BembridgeUSA 1 up**Trevino/Littler**
**Jacklin/Townsend**GBR 1 upCasper/Beard
Butler/HuntUSA 1 up**Nicklaus/Sikes**
1Session3

Friday's matches

Morning four-ball

GBRResultsUSA7Overall5
**O'Connor/Townsend**GBR 1 upHill/Douglass
Huggett/CaygillhalvedFloyd/Barber
Barnes/AllissUSA 1 up**Trevino/Littler**
**Jacklin/Coles**GBR 1 upNicklaus/Sikes
2Session1

Afternoon four-ball

GBRResultsUSA8Overall8
Butler/TownsendUSA 2 up**Casper/Beard**
Huggett/GallacherUSA 2 & 1**Hill/Still**
Bembridge/HunthalvedAaron/Floyd
Jacklin/ColeshalvedTrevino/Barber
1Session3

Source:

Saturday's matches

Morning singles

GBRResultsUSA13Overall11
Peter AllissUSA 2 & 1**Lee Trevino**
Peter TownsendUSA 5 & 4**Dave Hill**
**Neil Coles**GBR 1 upTommy Aaron
Brian BarnesUSA 1 up**Billy Casper**
**Christy O'Connor**GBR 5 & 4Frank Beard
**Maurice Bembridge**GBR 1 upKen Still
**Peter Butler**GBR 1 upRaymond Floyd
**Tony Jacklin**GBR 4 & 3Jack Nicklaus
5Session3

Afternoon singles

GBRResultsUSA16Overall16
Brian BarnesUSA 4 & 2**Dave Hill**
**Bernard Gallacher**GBR 4 & 3Lee Trevino
Maurice BembridgeUSA 7 & 6**Miller Barber**
**Peter Butler**GBR 3 & 2Dale Douglass
Neil ColesUSA 4 & 3**Dan Sikes**
Christy O'ConnorUSA 2 & 1**Gene Littler**
Brian HuggetthalvedBilly Casper
Tony JacklinhalvedJack Nicklaus
3Session5

Source:

Individual player records

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

Source:

Great Britain

PlayerPointsOverallSinglesFoursomesFourballs
Peter Alliss0.50–2–10–1–00–0–10–1–0
Brian Barnes00–3–00–2–00–0–00–1–0
Maurice Bembridge2.52–2–11–1–01–1–00–0–1
Peter Butler22–2–02–0–00–1–00–1–0
Alex Caygill0.50–0–10–0–00–0–00–0–1
Neil Coles3.53–2–11–1–01–1–01–0–1
Bernard Gallacher22–2–01–0–01–1–00–1–0
Brian Huggett21–2–20–0–11–1–00–1–1
Bernard Hunt0.50–1–10–0–00–1–00–0–1
Tony Jacklin54–0–21–0–12–0–01–0–1
Christy O'Connor2.52–1–11–1–00–0–11–0–0
Peter Townsend33–2–00–1–02–0–01–1–0

United States

PlayerPointsOverallSinglesFoursomesFourballs
Tommy Aaron1.51–2–10–1–01–1–0
Miller Barber21–1–21–0–00–1–0
Frank Beard1.51–2–10–1–00–1–1
Billy Casper32–1–21–0–10–1–1
Dale Douglass00–2–00–1–00–0–0
Raymond Floyd10–2–20–1–00–1–0
Dave Hill44–2–02–0–01–1–0
Gene Littler33–0–01–0–01–0–0
Jack Nicklaus1.51–2–10–1–11–0–0
Dan Sikes22–1–01–0–01–0–0
Ken Still11–2–00–1–00–1–0
Lee Trevino3.53–2–11–1–01–1–0

References

References

  1. Reedy, Thomas A.. (14 September 1969). "Ryder Cup lures top golf pros". Reading Eagle.
  2. Farrow, John. (21 September 1969). "Jacklin gives Britain a tie for Ryder Cup". Reading Eagle.
  3. Farrow, John. (9 October 1970). "Nicklaus and Jacklin meet". Gettysburg Times.
  4. Jacobs, Raymond. (22 September 1969). "Ryder Cup climax of breath-taking excitement". Glasgow Herald.
  5. Owen, David. (30 September 2016). "Now, about that famous Ryder Cup concession".
  6. "Price a reminder of the games sportsmanship". Golf Today.
  7. Brown, Gwilym S.. (29 September 1969). "A tie may be like kissing your sister...".
  8. (21 September 1969). "U.S., British golfers draw". Eugene Register-Guard.
  9. Ryder Cup History: 1969
  10. Cardon, Mark. (1 August 2002). "Nicklaus and Jacklin have history". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
  11. Hardisty, Matt. (21 September 2018). "The Concession – September 20, 1969". rydercup.com.
  12. Murray, Scott. (18 September 2008). "The Joy of Six: great Ryder Cup moments". The Guardian.
  13. Jacobs, Raymond. (18 September 1969). "Gallacher paired with Bembridge in Ryder Cup". Glasgow Herald.
  14. "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide".
  15. (18 January 1968). "New move in Ryder Cup selection". [[Bristol Evening Post]].
  16. (16 July 1969). "Gallacher nosed out by 1/2 point". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
  17. Ward-Thomas, Pat. (14 July 1969). "Jacklin on Open road to golf". [[The Guardian]].
  18. Ward-Thomas, Pat. (21 July 1969). "Gallacher wins Ryder place". [[The Guardian]].
  19. "Media Guide: 1967 Ryder Cup". PGA of America.
  20. "Media Guide: 1969 Ryder Cup". PGA of America.
  21. (20 September 1969). "Yanks draw even with Britons, 8-8". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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