The 7th Ryder Cup Matches were held November 1–2, 1947 at Portland Golf Club in Portland, Oregon, marking a resumption of the competition after a full decade. World War II forced cancellations from 1939 to 1945; the last competition was in 1937. The United States overwhelmed the British team, 11–1.[1][2]

7th Ryder Cup Matches
DatesNovember 1–2, 1947
VenuePortland Golf Club
LocationPortland, Oregon
Captains
United States 11 1 United Kingdom
United States wins the Ryder Cup
← 1937
1949 →
Portland Golf Club is located in the United States
Portland Golf Club
Portland
Golf Club
Portland Golf Club is located in Oregon
Portland Golf Club
Portland
Golf Club

An invitation to renew the Ryder Cup was sent by the American P.G.A. in November 1946.[3] This was accepted by the British P.G.A. in December.[4] However it was not until August 1947 that the dates and venue were agreed.[5][6]

The revival of the Ryder Cup in 1947 was initiated by Portland businessman Robert A. Hudson, who paid for the expenses of the teams and chaired the event.[7] He even met the British team in New York, threw a lavish party at the Waldorf-Astoria, and accompanied them on the four-day rail journey across the U.S. to Portland.[8][9]

The course had hosted the stroke play Portland Open on the PGA Tour in 1944 and 1945, won by Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, and the match play PGA Championship in August 1946, won by Hogan.

The American team won all four matches on the opening day and continued to dominate by winning all but one singles match. The only British victory in the competition came when Sam King beat Herman Keiser 4 & 3.

Played in the Pacific Northwest in November in wind and rain, soft course conditions prevailed as a week-long rain preceded the event.[10][11] The next several matches in the U.S. were played in more southerly venues.

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:[12]

This was the first of only two Ryder Cups for Hogan as a player and the second and final appearance for Byron Nelson, later the non-playing captain in 1965. Hogan was to be a non-playing captain in 1949 and 1967.

  Team USA
Name Age Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Ben Hogan – captain 35 0 Rookie
Herman Barron 37 0 Rookie
Jimmy Demaret 37 0 Rookie
Dutch Harrison 37 0 Rookie
Herman Keiser 33 0 Rookie
Lloyd Mangrum 33 0 Rookie
Byron Nelson 35 1 2 1–1–0 50.00
Ed Oliver 32 0 Rookie
Sam Snead 35 1 1 1–0–0 100.00
Lew Worsham 30 0 Rookie

In January 1947 the British P.G.A. appointed a selection committee of five.[13] This committee included three ex-Ryder Cup players: Bill Davies, George Duncan and Charles Whitcombe. In early August they announced a list of 14 players from which the final 10 would be chosen. The winner of the News of the World Match Play would also be included in the list.[5] In early September they announced the first seven members of the team: Cotton (captain), Daly, Rees, King, Adams, Ward and Horne. They also added two new names to the list of possible players (Arthur Lees and Laurie Ayton, Jnr), leaving nine or ten players competing for the remaining three places.[14] Later in September two more players were selected: Green and Lees, to which would be added the winner of the Match Play Championship or Max Faulkner if the winner of that tournament should already be in the team or ineligible.[15] The final place fell to Faulkner on September 26 when three of the semi-finalists in the Match Play Championship were already in the team and the fourth (Flory Van Donck, a Belgian) was ineligible.[16]

The British team was accompanied by Commander R.C.T. Roe, Secretary of the British P.G.A., who acted as manager of the team. They left from Southampton for New York on the Queen Mary on October 18.[17]

  Team Great Britain
Name Age Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
  Henry Cotton – captain 40 2 4 2–2–0 50.00
  Jimmy Adams 37 0 Rookie
  Fred Daly 36 0 Rookie
  Max Faulkner 31 0 Rookie
  Eric Green 39 0 Rookie
  Reg Horne 39 0 Rookie
  Sam King 36 1 1 0–0–1 50.00
  Arthur Lees 39 0 Rookie
  Dai Rees 34 1 2 1–0–1 75.00
  Charlie Ward 36 0 Rookie

Saturday's foursome matches

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  Results  
Cotton/Lees   10 & 9 Oliver/Worsham
Daly/Ward   6 & 5 Snead/Mangrum
Adams/Faulkner   2 up Hogan/Demaret
Rees/King   2 & 1 Nelson/Barron
0 Session 4
0 Overall 4

18 hole scores: Oliver/Worsham: 6 up, Snead/Mangrum: 6 up, Adams/Faulkner: 2 up, Rees/King: 1 up.[18]

Sunday's singles matches

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  Results  
Fred Daly   5 & 4 Dutch Harrison
Jimmy Adams   3 & 2 Lew Worsham
Max Faulkner   6 & 5 Lloyd Mangrum
Charlie Ward   4 & 3 Ed Oliver
Arthur Lees   2 & 1 Byron Nelson
Henry Cotton   5 & 4 Sam Snead
Dai Rees   3 & 2 Jimmy Demaret
Sam King   4 & 3 Herman Keiser
1 Session 7
1 Overall 11

Individual player records

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

Source:[12]

United States

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Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes
Herman Barron 1 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–0–0
Jimmy Demaret 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Dutch Harrison 1 1–0–0 1–0–0 0–0–0
Ben Hogan 1 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–0–0
Herman Keiser 0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–0
Lloyd Mangrum 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Byron Nelson 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Ed Oliver 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Sam Snead 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Lew Worsham 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0

Great Britain

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Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes
Jimmy Adams 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Henry Cotton 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Fred Daly 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Max Faulkner 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Sam King 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0
Arthur Lees 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Dai Rees 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Charlie Ward 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0

Eric Green and Reg Horne did not play in any matches.

References

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  1. ^ Newland, Russ (November 3, 1947). "U.S. 11-1 win most decisive". Miami News. Associated Press. p. 1-B.
  2. ^ "Ryder loss brings 'beef'". Reading Eagle. United Press. November 3, 1947. p. 12.
  3. ^ "The Ryder Cup". The Times, Wednesday, November 20, 1946; pg. 2; Issue 50613.
  4. ^ "Ryder Cup Match in 1947". The Times, Thursday, December 12, 1946; pg. 2; Issue 50632.
  5. ^ a b "Ryder Cup Match in November". The Times, Wednesday, August 13, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50838.
  6. ^ "The Ryder Cup". The Times, Wednesday, August 14, 1947; pg. 6; Issue 50839.
  7. ^ Achenbach, James (September 27, 2010). "Hudson responsible for saving Ryder Cup". Golfweek. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  8. ^ "Hall of Fame: Robert A. Hudson, Sr". PNGA. 1978. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  9. ^ Fagan, Robert. "The greatest Ryder Cup ever played and the man who saved it!". The A Position. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  10. ^ "Ryder Cup matches begin over rain-soaked coarse". Reading Eagle. United Press. November 1, 1947. p. 7.
  11. ^ Wood, Hal (November 3, 1947). "British Ryder Cuppers smothered in singles play; lose Cup matches, 11-1". Eugene Register-Guard. United Press. p. 7.
  12. ^ a b "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  13. ^ "Ryder Cup Selectors". The Times, Friday, January 17, 1947; pg. 8; Issue 50661.
  14. ^ "Players for the Ryder Cup". The Times, Friday, September 5, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50858.
  15. ^ "The Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Saturday, September 20, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50871.
  16. ^ "M. Faulkner in Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Saturday, September 27, 1947; pg. 6; Issue 50877.
  17. ^ "Departure of Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Monday, October 20, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50896.
  18. ^ "The Ryder Cup". The Times, Monday, November 3, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50908.
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45°28′37″N 122°45′47″W / 45.477°N 122.763°W / 45.477; -122.763