1969 Ryder Cup

18th Ryder Cup Matches

Dates

18–20 September 1969

Venue

Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Location

Southport, England

Captains

Eric Brown (Great Britain)
Sam Snead (USA)

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. 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.

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]

Name	Age	Previous Ryder Cups	Matches	W–L–H	Winning percentage
Team Great Britain
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.

Name	Age	Previous Ryder Cups	Matches	W–L–H	Winning percentage
Team USA
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
1 2 3 "Price a reminder of the games sportsmanship". Golf Today. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
1 2 Brown, Gwilym S. (29 September 1969). "A tie may be like kissing your sister...". Sports Illustrated. p. 67.
↑ "U.S., British golfers draw". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. 21 September 1969. p. 4B.
↑ Ryder Cup History: 1969
1 2 "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved September 26, 2015.
↑ "Media Guide: 1967 Ryder Cup". PGA of America. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
↑ "Media Guide: 1969 Ryder Cup". PGA of America. Retrieved 26 September 2012.

"Ryder Cup 2006 » History » 1969 Results". The PGA of America, Ryder Cup Limited, and Turner Sports Interactive. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
"Ryder Cup history: 1969". BBC Sport. 13 September 2004. Retrieved 2007-03-15.

External links

Ryder Cup

United States vs. Great Britain	1927 1929 1931 1933 1935 1937 1939 1941 1943 1945 1947 1949 1951 1953 1955 1957 1959 1961 1963 1965 1967 1969 1971

United States vs. Great Britain & Ireland	1973 1975 1977

United States vs. Europe	1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

See also	Ryder Cup matches American Ryder Cup golfers European Ryder Cup golfers Ryder Cup records

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

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