1947 Ryder Cup
The 7th Ryder Cup Matches were held November 1–2, 1947 at Portland Golf Club in Portland, Oregon, marking a resumption of the competition after a full decade. World War II forced cancellations from 1939 to 1945; the last competition was in 1937. The United States overwhelmed the British team, 11–1.[1][2]
Dates | November 1–2, 1947 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue | Portland Golf Club | ||||
Location | Portland, Oregon | ||||
Captains |
| ||||
| |||||
United States wins the Ryder Cup | |||||
Golf Club
Golf Club
An invitation to renew the Ryder Cup was sent by the American P.G.A. in November 1946.[3] This was accepted by the British P.G.A. in December.[4] However it was not until August 1947 that the dates and venue were agreed.[5][6]
The revival of the Ryder Cup in 1947 was initiated by Portland businessman Robert A. Hudson, who paid for the expenses of the teams and chaired the event.[7] He even met the British team in New York, threw a lavish party at the Waldorf-Astoria, and accompanied them on the four-day rail journey across the U.S. to Portland.[8][9]
The course had hosted the stroke play Portland Open on the PGA Tour in 1944 and 1945, won by Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, and the match play PGA Championship in August 1946, won by Hogan.
The American team won all four matches on the opening day and continued to dominate by winning all but one singles match. The only British victory in the competition came when Sam King beat Herman Keiser 4 & 3.
Played in the Pacific Northwest in November in wind and rain, soft course conditions prevailed as a week-long rain preceded the event.[10][11] The next several matches in the U.S. were played in more southerly venues.
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, 6½ points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 36 holes.
Teams
Source: [12]
This was the first of only two Ryder Cups for Hogan as a player and the second and final appearance for Byron Nelson, later the non-playing captain in 1965. Hogan was to be a non-playing captain in 1949 and 1967.
Team USA | |||||
Name | Age | Previous Ryder Cups |
Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ben Hogan – captain | 35 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Herman Barron | 37 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Jimmy Demaret | 37 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Dutch Harrison | 37 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Herman Keiser | 33 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Lloyd Mangrum | 33 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Byron Nelson | 35 | 1 | 2 | 1–1–0 | 50.00 |
Ed Oliver | 32 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Sam Snead | 35 | 1 | 1 | 1–0–0 | 100.00 |
Lew Worsham | 30 | 0 | Rookie |
In January 1947 the British P.G.A. appointed a selection committee of five.[13] This committee included three ex-Ryder Cup players: Bill Davies, George Duncan and Charles Whitcombe. In early August they announced a list of 14 players from which the final 10 would be chosen. The winner of the News of the World Match Play would also be included in the list.[5] In early September they announced the first seven members of the team: Cotton (captain), Daly, Rees, King, Adams, Ward and Horne. They also added two new names to the list of possible players (Arthur Lees and Laurie Ayton, Jnr), leaving nine or ten players competing for the remaining three places.[14] Later in September two more players were selected: Green and Lees, to which would be added the winner of the Match Play Championship or Max Faulkner if the winner of that tournament should already be in the team or ineligible.[15] The final place fell to Faulkner on September 26 when three of the semi-finalists in the Match Play Championship were already in the team and the fourth (Flory Van Donck, a Belgian) was ineligible.[16]
The British team was accompanied by Commander R.C.T. Roe, Secretary of the British P.G.A., who acted as manager of the team. They left from Southampton for New York on the Queen Mary on October 18.[17]
Team Great Britain | |||||
Name | Age | Previous Ryder Cups |
Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Henry Cotton – captain | 40 | 2 | 4 | 2–2–0 | 50.00 |
Jimmy Adams | 37 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Fred Daly | 36 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Max Faulkner | 31 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Eric Green | 39 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Reg Horne | 39 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Sam King | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0–0–1 | 50.00 |
Arthur Lees | 39 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Dai Rees | 34 | 1 | 2 | 1–0–1 | 75.00 |
Charlie Ward | 36 | 0 | Rookie |
Saturday's foursome matches
Results | ||
---|---|---|
Cotton/Lees | 10 & 9 | Oliver/Worsham |
Daly/Ward | 6 & 5 | Snead/Mangrum |
Adams/Faulkner | 2 up | Hogan/Demaret |
Rees/King | 2 & 1 | Nelson/Barron |
0 | Session | 4 |
0 | Overall | 4 |
18 hole scores: Oliver/Worsham: 6 up, Snead/Mangrum: 6 up, Adams/Faulkner: 2 up, Rees/King: 1 up.[18]
Sunday's singles matches
Results | ||
---|---|---|
Fred Daly | 5 & 4 | Dutch Harrison |
Jimmy Adams | 3 & 2 | Lew Worsham |
Max Faulkner | 6 & 5 | Lloyd Mangrum |
Charlie Ward | 4 & 3 | Ed Oliver |
Arthur Lees | 2 & 1 | Byron Nelson |
Henry Cotton | 5 & 4 | Sam Snead |
Dai Rees | 3 & 2 | Jimmy Demaret |
Sam King | 4 & 3 | Herman Keiser |
1 | Session | 7 |
1 | Overall | 11 |
Individual player records
Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.
Source: [12]
United States
Player | Points | Overall | Singles | Foursomes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Herman Barron | 1 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
Jimmy Demaret | 2 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
Dutch Harrison | 1 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
Ben Hogan | 1 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
Herman Keiser | 0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 |
Lloyd Mangrum | 2 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
Byron Nelson | 2 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
Ed Oliver | 2 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
Sam Snead | 2 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
Lew Worsham | 2 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
Great Britain
Player | Points | Overall | Singles | Foursomes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jimmy Adams | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
Henry Cotton | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
Fred Daly | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
Max Faulkner | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
Sam King | 1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
Arthur Lees | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
Dai Rees | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
Charlie Ward | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
Eric Green and Reg Horne did not play in any matches.
References
- Newland, Russ (November 3, 1947). "U.S. 11-1 win most decisive". Miami News. Associated Press. p. 1-B.
- "Ryder loss brings 'beef'". Reading Eagle. United Press. November 3, 1947. p. 12.
- "The Ryder Cup". The Times, Wednesday, November 20, 1946; pg. 2; Issue 50613.
- "Ryder Cup Match in 1947". The Times, Thursday, December 12, 1946; pg. 2; Issue 50632.
- "Ryder Cup Match in November". The Times, Wednesday, August 13, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50838.
- "The Ryder Cup". The Times, Wednesday, August 14, 1947; pg. 6; Issue 50839.
- Achenbach, James (September 27, 2010). "Hudson responsible for saving Ryder Cup". Golfweek. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
- "Hall of Fame: Robert A. Hudson, Sr". PNGA. 1978. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- Fagan, Robert. "The greatest Ryder Cup ever played and the man who saved it!". The A Position. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
- "Ryder Cup matches begin over rain-soaked coarse". Reading Eagle. United Press. November 1, 1947. p. 7.
- Wood, Hal (November 3, 1947). "British Ryder Cuppers smothered in singles play; lose Cup matches, 11-1". Eugene Register-Guard. United Press. p. 7.
- "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- "Ryder Cup Selectors". The Times, Friday, January 17, 1947; pg. 8; Issue 50661.
- "Players for the Ryder Cup". The Times, Friday, September 5, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50858.
- "The Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Saturday, September 20, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50871.
- "M. Faulkner in Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Saturday, September 27, 1947; pg. 6; Issue 50877.
- "Departure of Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Monday, October 20, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50896.
- "The Ryder Cup". The Times, Monday, November 3 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50908.
- "Ryder Cup 2006 » History » 1947 Results". The PGA of America, Ryder Cup Limited, and Turner Sports Interactive. Archived from the original on October 22, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
- "Ryder Cup history: 1947". BBC Sport. September 14, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2007.