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1969 Ryder Cup

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Coordinates: 53°37′19″N 3°01′59″W / 53.622°N 3.033°W / 53.622; -3.033
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18th Ryder Cup Matches
Dates18–20 September 1969
VenueRoyal Birkdale Golf Club
LocationSouthport, England
Captains
United Kingdom 16 16 United States
United States retains the Ryder Cup
← 1967
1971 →
Royal Birkdale Golf Club is located in England
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
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Location in England

The 18th Ryder Cup Matches were held 18–20 September 1969 at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.[1][2] 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,[3][4] in one of the most famous gestures of sportsmanship in all of sports.[5] It was the first tie in Ryder Cup history, and the United States team retained the Cup.[6][7][8]

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.[6] During one of the fourballs on the second day, both captains had to come out and calm down the warring players.[9] This led to Nicklaus conceding Jacklin's final putt with the knowledge that the overall competition would end in a draw.[6][7] On the previous hole, Jacklin sank a long eagle putt while Nicklaus missed his from 15 feet (4.5 m) and the match was squared.[7] 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."[5]

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.[10] 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,[11] U.S. captain Sam Snead was furious that the chance of outright victory had been given away.[12]

The U.S. team had only two players with previous Ryder Cup experience, Billy Casper and Gene Littler.[13] 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

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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, 161⁄2 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

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Source: [14]

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.[15] The leading six were O'Connor, Huggett, Butler, Townsend, Coles and Barnes.[16][17] The remaining six places were chosen by the committee the following week.[18]

United Kingdom Team Great Britain
Name Age Previous
Ryder Cups 		Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Scotland Eric Brown 44 Non-playing captain
England Peter Alliss 38 7 27 10–13–4 44.44
Scotland Brian Barnes 24 0 Rookie
England Maurice Bembridge 24 0 Rookie
England Peter Butler 37 1 5 0–3–2 20.00
England Alex Caygill 29 0 Rookie
England Neil Coles 34 4 21 7–11–3 40.48
Scotland Bernard Gallacher 20 0 Rookie
Wales Brian Huggett 32 2 10 3–5–2 40.00
England Bernard Hunt 39 7 26 6–15–5 32.69
England Tony Jacklin 25 1 6 2–3–1 41.67
Republic of Ireland Christy O'Connor Snr 44 7 23 7–15–1 32.61
England 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.[19][20] 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
United States 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

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Morning foursomes

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United Kingdom Results United States
Coles/Huggett United Kingdom 3 & 2 Barber/Floyd
Gallacher/Bembridge United Kingdom 2 & 1 Trevino/Still
Jacklin/Townsend United Kingdom 3 & 1 Hill/Aaron
O'Connor/Alliss halved Casper/Beard
31⁄2 Session 1⁄2
31⁄2 Overall 1⁄2

Afternoon foursomes

[edit]
United Kingdom Results United States
Coles/Huggett United States 1 up Hill/Aaron
Gallacher/Bembridge United States 1 up Trevino/Littler
Jacklin/Townsend United Kingdom 1 up Casper/Beard
Butler/Hunt United States 1 up Nicklaus/Sikes
1 Session 3
41⁄2 Overall 31⁄2

Friday's matches

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Morning four-ball

[edit]
United Kingdom Results United States
O'Connor/Townsend United Kingdom 1 up Hill/Douglass
Huggett/Caygill halved Floyd/Barber
Barnes/Alliss United States 1 up Trevino/Littler
Jacklin/Coles United Kingdom 1 up Nicklaus/Sikes
21⁄2 Session 11⁄2
7 Overall 5

Afternoon four-ball

[edit]
United Kingdom Results United States
Butler/Townsend United States 2 up Casper/Beard
Huggett/Gallacher United States 2 & 1 Hill/Still
Bembridge/Hunt halved Aaron/Floyd
Jacklin/Coles halved Trevino/Barber
1 Session 3
8 Overall 8

Source:[21]

Saturday's matches

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Morning singles

[edit]
United Kingdom Results United States
Peter Alliss United States 2 & 1 Lee Trevino
Peter Townsend United States 5 & 4 Dave Hill
Neil Coles United Kingdom 1 up Tommy Aaron
Brian Barnes United States 1 up Billy Casper
Christy O'Connor United Kingdom 5 & 4 Frank Beard
Maurice Bembridge United Kingdom 1 up Ken Still
Peter Butler United Kingdom 1 up Raymond Floyd
Tony Jacklin United Kingdom 4 & 3 Jack Nicklaus
5 Session 3
13 Overall 11

Afternoon singles

[edit]
United Kingdom Results United States
Brian Barnes United States 4 & 2 Dave Hill
Bernard Gallacher United Kingdom 4 & 3 Lee Trevino
Maurice Bembridge United States 7 & 6 Miller Barber
Peter Butler United Kingdom 3 & 2 Dale Douglass
Neil Coles United States 4 & 3 Dan Sikes
Christy O'Connor United States 2 & 1 Gene Littler
Brian Huggett halved Billy Casper
Tony Jacklin halved Jack Nicklaus
3 Session 5
16 Overall 16

Source:[2]

Individual player records

[edit]

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

Source: [14]

Great Britain

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

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  1. ^ Reedy, Thomas A. (14 September 1969). "Ryder Cup lures top golf pros". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 59.
  2. ^ a b Farrow, John (21 September 1969). "Jacklin gives Britain a tie for Ryder Cup". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 64.
  3. ^ Farrow, John (9 October 1970). "Nicklaus and Jacklin meet". Gettysburg Times. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 13.
  4. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (22 September 1969). "Ryder Cup climax of breath-taking excitement". Glasgow Herald. (Scotland). p. 4.
  5. ^ a b Owen, David (30 September 2016). "Now, about that famous Ryder Cup concession". Golf Digest. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  6. ^ a b c "Price a reminder of the games sportsmanship". Golf Today. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  7. ^ a b c Brown, Gwilym S. (29 September 1969). "A tie may be like kissing your sister..." Sports Illustrated. p. 67.
  8. ^ "U.S., British golfers draw". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. 21 September 1969. p. 4B.
  9. ^ Ryder Cup History: 1969
  10. ^ Cardon, Mark (1 August 2002). "Nicklaus and Jacklin have history". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. p. 6C.
  11. ^ Hardisty, Matt (21 September 2018). "The Concession – September 20, 1969". rydercup.com. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  12. ^ Murray, Scott (18 September 2008). "The Joy of Six: great Ryder Cup moments". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  13. ^ Jacobs, Raymond (18 September 1969). "Gallacher paired with Bembridge in Ryder Cup". Glasgow Herald. Scotland. p. 6.
  14. ^ a b "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  15. ^ "New move in Ryder Cup selection". Bristol Evening Post. 18 January 1968. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Gallacher nosed out by 1/2 point". The Daily Telegraph. 16 July 1969. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Ward-Thomas, Pat (14 July 1969). "Jacklin on Open road to golf". The Guardian. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Ward-Thomas, Pat (21 July 1969). "Gallacher wins Ryder place". The Guardian. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Media Guide: 1967 Ryder Cup". PGA of America. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  20. ^ "Media Guide: 1969 Ryder Cup". PGA of America. Archived from the original on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  21. ^ "Yanks draw even with Britons, 8-8". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 20 September 1969. p. 9.
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53°37′19″N 3°01′59″W / 53.622°N 3.033°W / 53.622; -3.033

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