The 15th Ryder Cup Matches were held October 11–13, 1963 at the Atlanta Athletic Club, at the site now known as East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] The United States team won the competition by a score of 23 to 9 points.[2][3] The U.S. did not lose a single match in the afternoon sessions.[4]

15th Ryder Cup Matches
DatesOctober 11–13, 1963
VenueAtlanta Athletic Club
LocationAtlanta, Georgia
Captains
United States 23 9 United Kingdom
United States wins the Ryder Cup
← 1961
1965 →
Atlanta AC is located in the United States
Atlanta AC
Atlanta AC
Atlanta AC is located in Georgia
Atlanta AC
Atlanta AC

Format

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The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format changed in 1963, with the addition of four-ball (better ball) matches on a third day of play. The schedule of play was as follows:

  • Day 1 (Friday) — 8 foursomes (alternate shot) matches, 4 each in morning and afternoon sessions
  • Day 2 (Saturday) — 8 four-ball (better ball) matches, 4 each in morning and afternoon sessions
  • Day 3 (Sunday) — 16 singles matches, 8 each in morning and afternoon sessions

With a total of 32 points, 1612 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.

Teams

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Source: [5]

In his second Ryder Cup, Arnold Palmer was the last playing captain in the competition. He was 3–1 in pairs and 1–1 in singles.

Despite having won his third major title as a professional at the PGA Championship in July, 23-year-old Jack Nicklaus was not a member of the U.S. team. Eligibility rules set by the PGA prevented him from participating in the Ryder Cup until 1969.[6][7] 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.

  Team USA
Name Age Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Arnold Palmer – captain 34 1 4 3–0–1 87.50
Julius Boros 43 1 1 1–0–0 100.00
Billy Casper 32 1 3 3–0–0 100.00
Dow Finsterwald 34 3 7 5–2–0 71.43
Bob Goalby 34 0 Rookie
Tony Lema 29 0 Rookie
Gene Littler 33 1 3 0–1–2 33.33
Billy Maxwell 34 0 Rookie
Johnny Pott 27 0 Rookie
Dave Ragan 28 0 Rookie

The British team was determined using a points system, points being earned in 9 stroke-play events during the 1963 season. Winners of the 1963 Open Championship and News of the World Match Play received automatic places.[8] The first qualifying event was the Schweppes PGA Close Championship in early April with the Senior Service Tournament in September being the final one. Dave Thomas won the News of the World Match Play but, since he finished 9th in the points list, the team was filled with the leading 10 players in the points list: Coles, Bernard Hunt, Huggett, Alliss, Haliburton, O'Connor, Weetman, Will, Thomas and Geoff Hunt.[9]

  Team Great Britain
Name Age Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
  John Fallon 50 Non-playing captain
  Peter Alliss 32 4 10 3–5–2 40.00
  Neil Coles 29 1 4 1–2–1 37.50
  Tom Haliburton 48 1 3 0–3–0 0.00
  Brian Huggett 26 0 Rookie
  Bernard Hunt 33 4 9 2–6–1 27.78
  Geoffrey Hunt 27 0 Rookie
  Christy O'Connor Snr 38 4 9 3–5–1 38.89
  Dave Thomas 29 1 2 0–1–1 25.00
  Harry Weetman 42 6 10 1–8–1 15.00
  George Will 26 0 Rookie

Friday's matches

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Morning foursomes

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  Results  
Huggett/Will   3 & 2 Palmer/Pott
Alliss/O'Connor   1 up Casper/Ragan
Coles/B. Hunt halved Boros/Lema
Thomas/Weetman halved Littler/Finsterwald
2 Session 2
2 Overall 2

Afternoon foursomes

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  Results  
Thomas/Weetman   4 & 3 Maxwell/Goalby
Huggett/Will   5 & 4 Palmer/Casper
Coles/G. Hunt   2 & 1 Littler/Finsterwald
Haliburton/B. Hunt   1 up Boros/Lema
0 Session 4
2 Overall 6

Saturday's matches

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Morning four-ball

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  Results  
Huggett/Thomas   5 & 4 Palmer/Finsterwald
Alliss/B. Hunt halved Littler/Boros
Weetman/Will   3 & 2 Casper/Maxwell
Coles/O'Connor   1 up Goalby/Ragan
112 Session 212
312 Overall 812

Afternoon four-ball

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  Results  
Coles/O'Connor   3 & 2 Palmer/Finsterwald
Alliss/B. Hunt   1 up Lema/Pott
Haliburton/G. Hunt   2 & 1 Casper/Maxwell
Huggett/Thomas halved Goalby/Ragan
12 Session 312
4 Overall 12

Sunday's matches

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Morning singles

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  Results  
Geoffrey Hunt   5 & 3 Tony Lema
Brian Huggett   3 & 1 Johnny Pott
Peter Alliss   1 up Arnold Palmer
Neil Coles halved Billy Casper
Dave Thomas   3 & 2 Bob Goalby
Christy O'Connor   1 up Gene Littler
Harry Weetman   1 up Julius Boros
Bernard Hunt   2 up Dow Finsterwald
412 Session 312
812 Overall 1512

Afternoon singles

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  Results  
George Will   3 & 2 Arnold Palmer
Neil Coles   2 & 1 Dave Ragan
Peter Alliss halved Tony Lema
Tom Haliburton   6 & 5 Gene Littler
Harry Weetman   2 & 1 Julius Boros
Christy O'Connor   2 & 1 Billy Maxwell
Dave Thomas   4 & 3 Dow Finsterwald
Bernard Hunt   2 & 1 Bob Goalby
12 Session 712
9 Overall 23

Individual player records

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

Source: [5]

United States

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Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Julius Boros 3 2–1–2 1–1–0 1–0–1 0–0–1
Billy Casper 4.5 4–0–1 0–0–1 2–0–0 2–0–0
Dow Finsterwald 4.5 4–1–1 1–1–0 1–0–1 2–0–0
Bob Goalby 3.5 3–1–1 2–0–0 1–0–0 0–1–1
Tony Lema 4 3–0–2 1–0–1 1–0–1 1–0–0
Gene Littler 4 3–0–2 2–0–0 1–0–1 0–0–1
Billy Maxwell 4 4–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0 2–0–0
Arnold Palmer 4 4–2–0 1–1–0 1–1–0 2–0–0
Johnny Pott 1 1–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0
Dave Ragan 2.5 2–1–1 1–0–0 1–0–0 0–1–1

Great Britain

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Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Peter Alliss 2 1–2–2 1–0–1 0–1–0 0–1–1
Neil Coles 2 1–3–2 0–1–1 0–1–1 1–1–0
Tom Haliburton 0 0–3–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Brian Huggett 2.5 2–2–1 1–0–0 1–1–0 0–1–1
Bernard Hunt 2 1–3–2 1–1–0 0–1–1 0–1–1
Geoffrey Hunt 0 0–3–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Christy O'Connor 1 1–4–0 0–2–0 0–1–0 1–1–0
Dave Thomas 1 0–4–2 0–2–0 0–1–1 0–1–1
Harry Weetman 1.5 1–3–1 1–1–0 0–1–1 0–1–0
George Will 1 1–3–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 0–1–0

References

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  1. ^ The AAC sold its Atlanta property in 1966 to finance its move to what is now Johns Creek. In 1968, East Lake Country Club was formed and purchased the former AAC site; the club later changed its name to its current form.
  2. ^ "Yanks rout British in Ryder golf, 23-9". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. October 13, 1963. p. 31.
  3. ^ Wright, Alfred (October 21, 1963). "The British went out in the noonday sun". Sports Illustrated. p. 53. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013.
  4. ^ "Ryder Cup won again by U.S. team". Eugene Register-Guard. UPI. October 14, 1963. p. 3B.
  5. ^ a b "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  6. ^ "Media Guide: 1963 Ryder Cup". PGA of America. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  7. ^ "Media Guide: 1969 Ryder Cup". PGA of America. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  8. ^ "Points system". The Times. December 12, 1962. p. 4.
  9. ^ "Brothers in". The Glasgow Herald. September 23, 1963. p. 10.
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33°44′35″N 84°18′11″W / 33.743°N 84.303°W / 33.743; -84.303