1967 Ryder Cup

The 17th Ryder Cup Matches were held October 20–22, 1967 at the Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. The United States team won the competition by a record score of 23½ to 8½ points.[1][2][3] To date, the 15-point victory margin remains the largest at the Ryder Cup.[4]

17th Ryder Cup Matches
DatesOctober 20–22, 1967
VenueChampions Golf Club
LocationHouston, Texas, U.S.
Captains
23½ 8½
United States wins the Ryder Cup
Houston
Location in the United States
Houston
Location in Texas

Ben Hogan was named the captain of the U.S. team in May 1967, five months before the matches.[5] He opted for the U.S. team to use the smaller British golf ball; the same weight, its diameter was .06 inches (1.5 mm) smaller at 1.62 inches (4.11 cm).[6]

The match had originally been arranged for June 9–11, a date that the British P.G.A. had reluctantly agreed to, as it interfered with the British tournament season. In April 1966, it was agreed that the dates be changed to October 20–22.[7]

The course hosted the U.S. Open two years later in 1969.

Format

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, 16½ points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.

Teams

Source: [8][9]

 Team USA
Name Age Points
rank		 Previous
Ryder Cups		 Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Ben Hogan 55Non-playing captain
Billy Casper 3613148–3–367.86
Arnold Palmer 38231611–4–171.88
Gay Brewer 3530Rookie
Doug Sanders 3440Rookie
Gene Littler 3753145–3–657.14
Julius Boros 4763117–2–272.73
Bobby Nichols 3170Rookie
Al Geiberger 3080Rookie
Gardner Dickinson 4090Rookie
Johnny Pott 3110231–2–033.33

The British team was based on a points system using performances in 1966 and 1967, finishing after the 1967 Open Championship.[10]

 Team Great Britain
Name Age Points
rank		 Previous
Ryder Cups		 Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Dai Rees 54Non-playing captain
Peter Alliss 3616219–8–452.38
Hugh Boyle 3190Rookie
Neil Coles 3333165–8–340.62
Malcolm Gregson 2480Rookie
Brian Huggett 307152–2–150.00
Bernard Hunt 3746216–12–335.71
Tony Jacklin 2350Rookie
Christy O'Connor Snr 4266197–11–139.47
Dave Thomas 3323131–9–319.23
George Will 30102102–7–125.00

Friday matches

October 20, 1967

Morning foursomes
Results
Huggett/Will halved Casper/Boros
Alliss/O'Connor 2 & 1 Palmer/Dickinson
Jacklin/Thomas 4 & 3 Sanders/Brewer
Hunt/Coles 6 & 5 Nichols/Pott
1½ Session 2½
1½ Overall 2½

Afternoon foursomes
Results
Huggett/Will 1 up Casper/Boros
Gregson/Boyle 5 & 4 Dickinson/Palmer
Jacklin/Thomas 3 & 2 Littler/Geiberger
Alliss/O'Connor 2 & 1 Nichols/Pott
1 Session 3
2½ Overall 5½

Saturday matches

October 21, 1967

Morning four-ball
Results
Alliss/O'Connor 3 & 2 Casper/Brewer
Hunt/Coles 1 up Nichols/Pott
Jacklin/Thomas 1 up Littler/Geiberger
Huggett/Will 3 & 2 Dickinson/Sanders
0 Session 4
2½ Overall 9½

Afternoon four-ball
Results
Hunt/Coles 5 & 3 Casper/Brewer
Alliss/Gregson 3 & 2 Dickinson/Sanders
Will/Boyle 1 up Palmer/Boros
Jacklin/Thomas halved Littler/Geiberger
½ Session 3½
3 Overall 13

Sunday matches

October 22, 1967

Morning singles
Results
Hugh Boyle 4 & 3 Gay Brewer
Peter Alliss 2 & 1 Billy Casper
Tony Jacklin 3 & 2 Arnold Palmer
Brian Huggett 1 up Julius Boros
Neil Coles 2 & 1 Doug Sanders
Malcolm Gregson 4 & 2 Al Geiberger
Dave Thomas halved Gene Littler
Bernard Hunt halved Bobby Nichols
3 Session 5
6 Overall 18

Afternoon singles
Results
Brian Huggett 5 & 3 Arnold Palmer
Peter Alliss 2 & 1 Gay Brewer
Tony Jacklin 3 & 2 Gardner Dickinson
Christy O'Connor 3 & 2 Bobby Nichols
George Will 3 & 1 Johnny Pott
Malcolm Gregson 2 & 1 Al Geiberger
Bernard Hunt halved Julius Boros
Neil Coles 2 & 1 Doug Sanders
2½ Session 5½
8½ Overall 23½

Individual player records

Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.

Source: [8]

United States
PlayerPointsOverallSinglesFoursomesFourballs
Julius Boros32–1–20–1–11–0–11–0–0
Gay Brewer33–2–01–1–00–1–02–0–0
Billy Casper4.54–0–11–0–01–0–12–0–0
Gardner Dickinson55–0–01–0–02–0–02–0–0
Al Geiberger3.53–1–12–0–00–1–01–0–1
Gene Littler21–1–20–0–10–1–01–0–1
Bobby Nichols4.54–0–11–0–12–0–01–0–0
Arnold Palmer55–0–02–0–02–0–01–0–0
Johnny Pott44–0–01–0–02–0–01–0–0
Doug Sanders22–3–00–2–00–1–02–0–0

Great Britain
PlayerPointsOverallSinglesFoursomesFourballs
Peter Alliss11–5–01–1–00–2–00–2–0
Hugh Boyle00–3–00–1–00–1–00–1–0
Neil Coles22–3–02–0–00–1–00–2–0
Malcolm Gregson00–4–00–2–00–1–00–1–0
Brian Huggett1.51–3–11–1–00–1–10–1–0
Bernard Hunt10–3–20–0–20–1–00–2–0
Tony Jacklin2.52–3–10–2–02–0–00–1–1
Christy O'Connor00–4–00–1–00–2–00–1–0
Dave Thomas32–1–20–0–12–0–00–1–1
George Will0.50–4–10–1–00–1–10–2–0

Nicklaus absence

Despite having won his seventh major title as a professional at the U.S. Open in June, 27-year-old Jack Nicklaus was not a member of the U.S. team. At the time, a five-year apprenticeship as a professional was required before Ryder Cup points could be earned. Nicklaus turned pro in November 1961 and was granted tournament status at the end of that year.[11] He expedited his status by passing PGA business classes in February 1966, and was granted full membership that June.[12] Only then was he eligible to accumulate Ryder Cup points, which ended with the Masters in April. Captain's selections did not exist in 1967 and Nicklaus was in a slump following his win at the Masters in 1966;[13] entering the Masters in 1967 as the two-time defending champion, he was in 13th place in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings. Also just off the team were Dave Marr and Bob Goalby.[14] Nicklaus and Goalby missed the cut at Augusta and Marr's T-16 finish was not enough to pass Johnny Pott for the tenth and final spot on the team.[9] Pott was 4–0–0 in the competition.

The outmoded five-year rule had similarly kept Arnold Palmer off the teams in 1957 and 1959. Don January won the PGA Championship in 1967 in July, but was also at home; the only reigning major champion on either team in 1967 was Masters champion Gay Brewer.

Nicklaus competed in the Ryder Cup as a player from 1969 through 1981, missing only in 1979. He was the non-playing captain in 1983 and 1987.

References
  1. Wright, Alfred (October 30, 1967). "Ben and Arnie liven up the weekend". Sports Illustrated. p. 56.
  2. "British swamped in Ryder Cup play". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. UPI. October 23, 1967. p. 4B.
  3. "Palmer ace in Cup win, 23½ to 8½". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. October 23, 1967. p. 34.
  4. "Ryder Cup 2006 » History » 1967 Results". The PGA of America. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
  5. "Hogan named Ryder captain". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Florida. Associated Press. May 25, 1967. p. 20.
  6. "Hogan elects small ball for Ryder Cup matches". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. October 2, 1967. p. 29.
  7. "October date for Ryder Cup contest". Glasgow Herald. April 6, 1966. p. 7.
  8. "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  9. "Five newcomers chosen for Ryder Cup team". Miami News. Associated Press. April 13, 1967. p. 3B.
  10. "Will wins Ryder Cup place". Glasgow Herald. July 17, 1967. p. 4.
  11. "Nicklaus must return to school to qualify for Ryder Cup team". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. December 18, 1965. p. 38.
  12. Auclair, T.J. (June 1, 2016). "Jack Nicklaus celebrates 50 years of PGA Membership". PGA of America. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  13. "Big Nick may miss action on Cup team". Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina. UPI. March 29, 1967. p. 8.
  14. "Ryder spot is elusive for Nicklaus". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. March 28, 1967. p. 12.

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