1963 Ryder Cup

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


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]

Format

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

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.

United States 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]

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

Friday's matches

Morning foursomes

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

Afternoon foursomes

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

Saturday's matches

Morning four-ball

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

Afternoon four-ball

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

Sunday's matches

Morning singles

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

Afternoon singles

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

Individual player records

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

Source: [5]

United States

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

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

  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.

33°44′35″N 84°18′11″W / 33.743°N 84.303°W / 33.743; -84.303