The 3rd Ryder Cup Matches were held June 26–27, 1931 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. The United States team won the competition by a score of 9 to 3 points.

3rd Ryder Cup Matches
Logo
DatesJune 26–27, 1931
VenueScioto Country Club
LocationColumbus, Ohio
Captains
United States 9 3 United Kingdom
United States wins the Ryder Cup
← 1929
1933 →
Scioto CC is located in the United States
Scioto CC
Scioto CC
Scioto CC is located in Ohio
Scioto CC
Scioto CC

The course was the venue for U.S. Open in 1926, won by amateur Bobby Jones, the second of his four titles. It later hosted the PGA Championship in 1950. Scioto is also noteworthy as the club where Jack Nicklaus learned to play as a youth in the 1950s.

Format

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The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. From 1927 through 1959, the format consisted of 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches on the first day and 8 singles matches on the second day, for a total of 12 points. Therefore, 612 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 36 holes.

Teams

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Source:[1]

Prior to the match, there was some controversy about the qualification rules for the Great Britain team. In 1927 and 1929 the American PGA had decided to only select American born and resident players but the original Ryder Cup Deed of Trust made no such provision. All members of the Professional Golfers' Association were eligible. In late 1929 the Deed of Trust was revised requiring players to be born in and resident in their respective countries.[2] This rule disqualified Percy Alliss and Aubrey Boomer, two of Great Britain's best players, as they had both taken jobs as club professionals in mainland Europe.

  Team USA
Name Age Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Walter Hagen – captain 38 2 4 3–1–0 75.00
Billy Burke 28 0 Rookie
Wiffy Cox 34 0 Rookie
Leo Diegel 32 2 4 3–1–0 75.00
Al Espinosa 40 2 2 1–0–1 75.00
Johnny Farrell 30 2 4 2–1–1 62.50
Gene Sarazen 29 2 4 1–2–1 37.50
Denny Shute 26 0 Rookie
Horton Smith 23 1 1 1–0–0 100.00
Craig Wood 29 0 Rookie

In early 1931, it was announced that a selection committee of five would choose the Great Britain team for the 1931 Ryder Cup. This committee consisted of George Oke, Charles Whitcombe, Charles Corlett, Dick Wheildon and Albert Haskins. Charles Whitcombe was announced as the captain.[3] An initial squad of 24 was announced.[4]

Henry Cotton objected to a team rule requiring all players to travel out together and return together.[5] Cotton wished to remain in the United States after the match.[6] As a consequence Cotton was withdrawn from the squad.

Four trial matches were played in which the new American sized ball was used, and in early May a further six players were selected: Compston, Davies, Jolly, Mitchell, Robson and Ernest Whitcombe.[7] Duncan and Easterbrook were later added.[8] During the final day of The Open Championship, Cotton was again asked whether he would play under the original conditions but again declined[9] and the following day Hodson was announced as the final selection. In a further statement the same day it was announced that Herbert Jolly had withdrawn because of a lack of form and had been replaced by Havers.[10] Jolly had scored 84 and 78 in the Open Championship qualifying the previous week.

The British team sailed on June 10 following a farewell dinner the previous evening.[11]

  Team Great Britain
Name Age Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
  Charles Whitcombe – captain 35 2 4 2–0–2 75.00
  Archie Compston 38 2 4 1–2–1 37.50
  Bill Davies 39 0 Rookie
  George Duncan 47 2 4 2–2–0 50.00
  Syd Easterbrook 26 0 Rookie
  Arthur Havers 33 1 2 0–2–0 0.00
  Bert Hodson 25 0 Rookie
  Abe Mitchell 44 1 2 1–1–0 50.00
  Fred Robson 46 2 4 1–3–0 25.00
  Ernest Whitcombe 40 1 2 0–1–1 25.00

Friday's foursome matches

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  Results  
Compston/Davies   8 & 7 Sarazen/Farrell
Duncan/Havers   10 & 9 Hagen/Shute
Mitchell/Robson   3 & 1 Diegel/Espinosa
Easterbrook/E. Whitcombe   3 & 2 Burke/Cox
1 Session 3
1 Overall 3

Saturday's singles matches

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  Results  
Archie Compston   7 & 6 Billy Burke
Fred Robson   7 & 6 Gene Sarazen
Bill Davies   4 & 3 Johnny Farrell
Abe Mitchell   3 & 1 Wiffy Cox
Charles Whitcombe   4 & 3 Walter Hagen
Bert Hodson   8 & 6 Denny Shute
Ernest Whitcombe   2 & 1 Al Espinosa
Arthur Havers   4 & 3 Craig Wood
2 Session 6
3 Overall 9

Individual player records

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

Source:[1]

United States

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Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes
Billy Burke 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Wiffy Cox 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Leo Diegel 0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0
Al Espinosa 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0
Johnny Farrell 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0
Walter Hagen 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Gene Sarazen 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Denny Shute 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Craig Wood 0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–0

Horton Smith did not play in any matches.

Great Britain

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Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes
Archie Compston 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Bill Davies 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0
George Duncan 0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0
Syd Easterbrook 0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0
Arthur Havers 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0
Bert Hodson 0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–0
Abe Mitchell 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0
Fred Robson 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0
Charles Whitcombe 0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–0
Ernest Whitcombe 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0

References

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  1. ^ a b "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  2. ^ Fry, Peter (July 2000). Samuel Ryder: The Man Behind the Ryder Cup. Wright Press. ISBN 978-0-9539087-0-7.
  3. ^ "The Ryder Cup". The Times, Tuesday, January 13, 1931; pg. 7; Issue 45719; col D.
  4. ^ "The Ryder Cup". The Times, Wednesday, January 21, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45726; col B.
  5. ^ "The Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Tuesday, February 10, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45743; col E.
  6. ^ "Cotton and The Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Tuesday, February 17, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45749; col F.
  7. ^ "The Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Wednesday, May 6, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45815; col E.
  8. ^ "The Ryder Cup Team". The Times, The Times, Saturday, May 16, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45824; col C.
  9. ^ "The Ryder Cup Team". The Times, The Times, Saturday, June 6, 1931; pg. 6; Issue 45842.
  10. ^ "The Ryder Cup Team". The Times, The Times, Monday, June 8, 1931; pg. 7; Issue 45843.
  11. ^ "Ryder Cup Team - The Duke of York at farewell dinner". The Times, The Times, Wednesday, June 10, 1931; pg. 14; Issue 45845.
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40°00′07″N 83°04′30″W / 40.002°N 83.075°W / 40.002; -83.075