The 1959 Walker Cup, the 17th

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

Match, was played on 15 and 16 May 1959, at

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The ...

Gullane Gullane ( or ) is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twelft ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

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. The United States won by 9 matches to 3. The United States won all four of the foursomes matches on the first day. Although Great Britain and Ireland won three of the singles matches on the second day, it was a comfortable win for the United States.

Format

Four 36-hole matches of foursomes were played on Friday and eight singles matches on Saturday. Each of the 12 matches was worth one point in the larger team competition. If a match was all square after the 36th hole extra holes were not played. The team with most points won the competition. If the two teams were tied, the previous winner would retain the trophy.

Teams

Great Britain & Ireland had a team of 10 plus a non-playing captain.

Gerald Micklem Gerald Hugh Micklem (14 August 1911 – 21 May 1988) was an English amateur golfer and administrator. He played in four Walker Cup matches between 1947 and 1955 and was non-playing captain in 1957 and 1959. Micklem had limited success as a golf ...

was selected as the non-playing captain in November 1958 at which time an initial group of 14 possible players was also announced. The team was announced on 15 April and included James Walker with Dickson Smith as the reserve. Later in April Walker withdrew after being involved in a car accident which left him with a knee injury. He was replaced in the team by Smith. A few days later

Alan Thirlwell Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * A ...

and

Sandy Saddler Joseph "Sandy" Saddler (June 23, 1926 – September 18, 2001) was an American professional boxer. He was a two-time featherweight world champion, having also held the super featherweight title. Over his twelve-year career (1944–56), Saddler s ...

were chosen as first and second reserves but were not required. The United States only selected a team of 9, which included a playing captain. The team was selected in early February. The American team arrived in Scotland on 8 May.

Friday's foursomes

Deane Beman } Deane R. Beman (born April 22, 1938) is an American professional golfer, golf administrator. He was the second commissioner of the PGA Tour, serving from 1974 to 1994. Early years Born in Washington, D.C., Beman attended the University of Maryla ...

was left out of the United States team, while David Marsh and Dickson Smith were left out of British and Irish team. After the morning round Patton and Coe were 9 holes up but the other three matches were close, with Hyndman and Aaron 2 holes up and Great Britain and Ireland leading by 1 hole in the other two matches, Conditions were more difficult in the afternoon, with a stronger breeze. Patton and Coe won their match easily but the other three matches remained close. In the end, however, the United States won the first two matches by one hole while Wettlaufer and Nicklaus won at the 35th hole.

Saturday's singles

For the singles Dickson Smith replaced

Arthur Perowne Arthur William Thomson Perowne (13 June 18679 April 1948) was an Anglican bishop in Britain. He was the first Bishop of Bradford and, from 1931, was the Bishop of Worcester. Birth family and education Perowne was born into a distinguished ecc ...

while

replaced

Bud Taylor Charles Bernard "Bud" Taylor (July 22, 1903 – March 6, 1962) was an American boxer from Terre Haute, Indiana. Nicknamed the ''"Blonde Terror of Terre Haute"'', he held the NBA World Bantamweight Championship during his career in 1927. ''The R ...

. This meant that David Marsh was not selected for any matches.

References

{{Walker Cup Walker Cup Golf tournaments in Scotland