The 8th Ryder Cup Matches were held 16–17 September 1949, at

Ganton Golf Club Ganton Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course in Ganton, North Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1891, the course was initially designed by Tom Chisholm and Robert Bird, but modifications to the course have been made since by a number of people includ ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The United States team won the competition by a score of seven to five. Still recovering from his near-fatal automobile accident in February,

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory an ...

was the non-playing captain of the U.S. team. He returned as a competitor for a final time in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. The U.S. team's decision to bring a half ton of meat to England made headlines. Hogan objected to the depth of the grooves on some British players' irons, and they were modified before being allowed into the competition. Britain led three to one after the first day, but the U.S. won six of eight matches in singles on Saturday to keep the Cup. The Ganton course measured for this Ryder Cup.

Format

The Ryder Cup is a

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

event, with each match worth one point. From

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

through

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

, the format consisted of four foursome (alternate shot) matches on the first day and eight singles matches on the second day, for a total of 12 points. Therefore, 6 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 36 holes.

Teams

Source: In April 1949 the British P.G.A. appointed a selection committee of five. The committee consisted of four ex-Ryder Cup players: Dick Burton,

Arthur Havers Arthur Gladstone Havers (10 June 1898 – 27 December 1980)"Mr A.G. Havers. ''The Times'', 29 December 1980; p. 12; Issue 60812."Deaths – Havers. ''The Times'', 31 December 1980; p. 22; Issue 60814. was an English professional golfer. Havers w ...

Alf Padgham Alfred Harry Padgham (2 July 1906 – 4 March 1966) was one of the leading British professional golfers of the 1930s and 1940s. He won the 1936 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Merseyside, England and played for Great Br ...

and Charles Whitcombe to which would be added the chairman of the P.G.A. to be elected in July. In mid-July a list of 20 possible players was announced, although other players could be added to this list. Charles Whitcombe was announced as the non-playing captain. The list included Henry Cotton who later withdrew because he was returning to his golf school in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

and would "have no opportunity to sharpen up his game." The team was selected immediately after the

News Chronicle Tournament The News Chronicle Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in the Brighton area. It was held from 1936 to 1951. Winners References {{Reflist Golf tournaments in England Recurring sporting events established in 1936 Recurring ...

, a tournament won by Dick Burton, one of the selectors, by 12 strokes. The team was chosen from the 19 remaining possible players announced in July.

Friday's foursome matches

18 hole scores: Faulkner/Adams: 3 up, Daly/Bousfield: 2 up, Demaret/Heafner: 1 up, Burton/Lees v Snead/Mangrum: all square.

Saturday's singles matches

18 hole scores: Harrison: 7 up, Adams: 1 up, Snead: 1 up, Rees: 4 up, Burton: 1 up, Harbert: 5 up, Demaret: 5 up, Mangrum: 1 up."U.S. Retain the Ryder Cup - Magnificent Play at Ganton". ''The Times'', Monday, 19 September 1949; pg. 6; Issue 51490.

Individual player records

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

Great Britain

Laurie Ayton, Jnr did not play in any matches.

United States

References

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External links

PGA of America: 1949 Ryder Cup
{{coord, 54.190, -0.495, type:event, display=title Ryder Cup Golf tournaments in England Sport in Scarborough, North Yorkshire Ryder Cup Ryder Cup Ryder Cup