The 20th Ryder Cup Matches were held at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. The United States team won the competition by a score of 19 to 13 points.[1] For the first time, what had previously been the "Great Britain" team was called "Great Britain and Ireland", although golfers from the Republic of Ireland had played since 1953, and from Northern Ireland since 1947.
| Dates | 20–22 September 1973 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Muirfield | ||||
| Location | East Lothian, Scotland | ||||
| Captains |
| ||||
| |||||
| United States wins the Ryder Cup | |||||
Muirfield had hosted the Open Championship the previous year, won by American Lee Trevino.
Format edit
The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format was adjusted slightly in 1973 from the format used from 1963 through 1971:
- Day 1 — 4 foursomes (alternate shot) matches in a morning session and 4 four-ball (better ball) matches in an afternoon session
- Day 2 — 4 foursome matches in a morning session and 4 four-ball matches in an afternoon session
- 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. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.
Teams edit
Source: [2]
Selection for the Great Britain and Ireland team was based on a points list with points being earned between the 1972 Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf and the same event in 1973. Total points determined the order, with 30 points to the winner, 24 for the runner-up, down to 1 point for the player in 25th place.[3] The leading 8 in the points list were guaranteed places, with the remaining 4 selected by a committee. The top 8 were: Oosterhuis, Coles, Jacklin, Bembridge, Barnes, Butler, O'Connor and Gallacher.[4] The selection committee chose the players lying 9th to 12th in the list: Garner, Polland, Clark and Huggett.[5]
  Team Great Britain and Ireland
| |||||
| Name | Age | Previous Ryder Cups |
Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bernard Hunt
|
43 | Non-playing captain | |||
 Brian Barnes
|
28 | 2 | 6 | 2–4–0 | 33.33 |
| Maurice Bembridge
|
28 | 2 | 7 | 3–3–1 | 50.00 |
| Peter Butler
|
41 | 3 | 11 | 3–6–2 | 36.36 |
| Clive Clark
|
28 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Neil Coles
|
38 | 6 | 32 | 11–15–6 | 43.75 |
| Bernard Gallacher
|
24 | 2 | 9 | 5–3–1 | 61.11 |
| John Garner
|
26 | 1 | 1 | 0–1–0 | 0.00 |
 Brian Huggett
|
36 | 4 | 19 | 5–9–5 | 39.47 |
| Tony Jacklin
|
29 | 3 | 17 | 7–6–4 | 52.94 |
 Christy O'Connor Snr
|
48 | 9 | 31 | 10–18–3 | 37.10 |
| Peter Oosterhuis
|
25 | 1 | 6 | 3–3–0 | 50.00 |
 Eddie Polland
|
26 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Due to the rules of the PGA of America in place at the time, players with less than five years as a professional were not eligible for the U.S. team, which included reigning U.S. Open champion Johnny Miller and Lanny Wadkins.[6] (These rules also kept Jack Nicklaus on the sidelines until 1969.) Miller made his Ryder Cup debut in 1975 and Wadkins in 1977.
 Team USA
| |||||
| Name | Age | Previous Ryder Cups |
Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Burke Jr. | 50 | Non-playing captain | |||
| Tommy Aaron | 36 | 1 | 4 | 1–2–1 | 37.50 |
| Homero Blancas | 35 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Gay Brewer | 41 | 1 | 5 | 3–2–0 | 60.00 |
| Billy Casper | 42 | 6 | 27 | 14–7–6 | 62.96 |
| Lou Graham | 35 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Dave Hill | 36 | 1 | 6 | 4–2–0 | 66.67 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 33 | 2 | 10 | 6–3–1 | 65.00 |
| Arnold Palmer | 44 | 5 | 27 | 20–5–2 | 77.78 |
| Chi-Chi Rodríguez | 37 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| J. C. Snead | 32 | 1 | 4 | 4–0–0 | 100.00 |
| Lee Trevino | 33 | 2 | 11 | 6–3–2 | 63.64 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 30 | 0 | Rookie | ||
Thursday's matches edit
Morning foursomes edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Barnes/Gallacher |  1 up
|
Trevino/Casper |
| O'Connor/Coles | 3 & 2
|
Weiskopf/Snead |
| Jacklin/Oosterhuis | halved | Rodríguez/Graham |
| Bembridge/Polland |  6 & 5
|
Nicklaus/Palmer |
| 21⁄2 | Session | 11⁄2 |
| 21⁄2 | Overall | 11⁄2 |
Afternoon four-ball edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Barnes/Gallacher | 5 & 4
|
Aaron/Brewer |
| Bembridge/Huggett | 3 & 1
|
Nicklaus/Palmer |
| Jacklin/Oosterhuis | 3 & 1
|
Weiskopf/Casper |
| Coles/O'Connor | 2 & 1
|
Trevino/Blancas |
| 3 | Session | 1 |
| 51⁄2 | Overall | 21⁄2 |
Friday's matches edit
Morning foursomes edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Barnes/Butler | 1 up
|
Nicklaus/Weiskopf |
| Oosterhuis/Jacklin | 2 up
|
Palmer/Hill |
| Bembridge/Huggett | 5 & 4
|
Rodríguez/Graham |
| Coles/O'Connor | 2 & 1
|
Trevino/Casper |
| 2 | Session | 2 |
| 71⁄2 | Overall | 41⁄2 |
Afternoon four-ball edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Barnes/Butler | 2 up
|
Snead/Palmer |
| Jacklin/Oosterhuis | 3 & 2
|
Brewer/Casper |
| Clark/Polland | 3 & 2
|
Nicklaus/Weiskopf |
| Bembridge/Huggett | halved | Trevino/Blancas |
| 1⁄2 | Session | 31⁄2 |
| 8 | Overall | 8 |
Saturday's matches edit
Morning singles edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Brian Barnes | 2 & 1
|
Billy Casper |
| Bernard Gallacher | 3 & 1
|
Tom Weiskopf |
| Peter Butler | 5 & 4
|
Homero Blancas |
| Tony Jacklin | 3 & 1
|
Tommy Aaron |
| Neil Coles | halved | Gay Brewer |
| Christy O'Connor | 1 up
|
J. C. Snead |
| Maurice Bembridge | halved | Jack Nicklaus |
| Peter Oosterhuis | halved | Lee Trevino |
| 21⁄2 | Session | 51⁄2 |
| 101⁄2 | Overall | 131⁄2 |
Afternoon singles edit
|
|
Results |
|
|---|---|---|
| Brian Huggett | 4 & 2
|
Homero Blancas |
| Brian Barnes | 3 & 1
|
J. C. Snead |
| Bernard Gallacher | 6 & 5
|
Gay Brewer |
| Tony Jacklin | 2 & 1
|
Billy Casper |
| Neil Coles | 6 & 5
|
Lee Trevino |
| Christy O'Connor | halved | Tom Weiskopf |
| Maurice Bembridge | 2 up
|
Jack Nicklaus |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 4 & 2
|
Arnold Palmer |
| 21⁄2 | Session | 51⁄2 |
| 13 | Overall | 19 |
Individual player records edit
Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.
Source: [2]
Great Britain and Ireland edit
| Player | Points | Overall | Singles | Foursomes | Fourballs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Barnes | 2 | 2–4–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–1–0 | 1–1–0 |
| Maurice Bembridge | 3 | 2–2–2 | 0–1–1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–1 |
| Peter Butler | 0 | 0–3–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Clive Clark | 0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Neil Coles | 1.5 | 1–3–1 | 0–1–1 | 1–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Bernard Gallacher | 2 | 2–2–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
| Brian Huggett | 3.5 | 3–0–1 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–1 |
| Tony Jacklin | 3.5 | 3–2–1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–1 | 1–1–0 |
| Christy O'Connor | 1.5 | 1–3–1 | 0–1–1 | 1–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Peter Oosterhuis | 4 | 3–1–2 | 1–0–1 | 1–0–1 | 1–1–0 |
| Eddie Polland | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
John Garner did not play in any matches.
United States edit
| Player | Points | Overall | Singles | Foursomes | Fourballs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Aaron | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Homero Blancas | 2.5 | 2–1–1 | 1–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 1–0–1 |
| Gay Brewer | 2.5 | 2–1–1 | 1–0–1 | 0–0–0 | 1–1–0 |
| Billy Casper | 4 | 4–2–0 | 2–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 1–1–0 |
| Lou Graham | 0.5 | 0–1–1 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–1 | 0–0–0 |
| Dave Hill | 0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 4.5 | 4–1–1 | 1–0–1 | 2–0–0 | 1–1–0 |
| Arnold Palmer | 2 | 2–3–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–0 | 1–1–0 |
| Chi-Chi Rodríguez | 0.5 | 0–1–1 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–1 | 0–0–0 |
| J. C. Snead | 3 | 3–1–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 |
| Lee Trevino | 4 | 3–1–2 | 1–0–1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–1 |
| Tom Weiskopf | 3.5 | 3–2–1 | 1–0–1 | 1–1–0 | 1–1–0 |
References edit
- ^ "U.S. prevails in Ryder Cup". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. 23 September 1973. p. 5D.
- ^ a b "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- ^ "Change to Ryder Cup team selection". The Glasgow Herald. 3 February 1972. p. 4.
- ^ "Garner may miss Ryder Cup". The Glasgow Herald. 20 August 1973. p. 5.
- ^ "Selectors stick to Ryder Cup table". The Glasgow Herald. 21 August 1973. p. 4.
- ^ Green, Bob (22 June 1973). "Johnny Miller ineligible for Ryder Cup team". Lewiston Evening Journal. Lewiston, Maine. Associated Press. p. 18.
- ^ "Ryder cup captains choose predictable partnerships". Glasgow Herald. 20 September 1973. p. 5.
- ^ "Scottish pair show the way to British lead". Glasgow Herald. 21 September 1973. p. 4.
- ^ "Americans now hold the balance of power". Glasgow Herald. 21 September 1973. p. 2.
- ^ "US victory confirms hopeless imbalance of Ryder cup". Glasgow Herald. 24 September 1973. p. 5.
- "Ryder Cup 2006 » History » 1973 Results". The PGA of America, Ryder Cup Limited, and Turner Sports Interactive. Archived from the original on 22 October 2006. Retrieved 15 March 2007.
- "Ryder Cup history: 1973". BBC Sport. 13 September 2004. Retrieved 15 March 2007.
External links edit
- PGA of America: 1973 Ryder Cup Archived 23 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- About.com: 1973 Ryder Cup Archived 8 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine