| Ryder Cup | |
| Year: | 1949 |
| Dates: | 16–17 September 1949 |
| Venue: | Ganton Golf Club |
| Location: | Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England |
| Home: | Great Britain |
| Away: | USA |
| Homecaptain: | Charles Whitcombe |
| Awaycaptain: | Ben Hogan |
| Homescore: | 5 |
| Awayscore: | 7 |
| Result: | United States wins |
The 8th Ryder Cup Matches were held 16–17 September 1949, at Ganton Golf Club in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The United States team won the competition by a score of seven to five.[1]
Still recovering from his near-fatal automobile accident in February, Ben Hogan was the non-playing captain of the U.S. team. He returned as a competitor for a final time in 1951.
The U.S. team's decision to bring a half ton of meat to England made headlines.[2] [3]
Hogan objected to the depth of the grooves on some British players' irons, and they were modified before being allowed into the competition.[4] Britain led three to one after the first day,[5] but the U.S. won six of eight matches in singles on Saturday to keep the Cup.[1]
The Ganton course measured for this Ryder Cup.[4]
The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. From 1927 through 1959, 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.
Source:[6]
In April 1949 the British P.G.A. appointed a selection committee of five.[7] The committee consisted of four ex-Ryder Cup players: Dick Burton, Arthur Havers, Alf Padgham 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.[8] The list included Henry Cotton who later withdrew because he was returning to his golf school in Monte Carlo and would "have no opportunity to sharpen up his game."[9] The team was selected immediately after the News Chronicle Tournament, a tournament won by Dick Burton, one of the selectors, by 12 strokes.[10] The team was chosen from the 19 remaining possible players announced in July.[11]
 Team Great Britain | ||||||
| Name | Age | Previous Ryder Cups | Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Whitcombe | 53 | Non-playing captain | ||||
| Jimmy Adams | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0–2–0 | 0.00 | |
| Laurie Ayton, Jnr | 35 | 0 | Rookie | |||
| Ken Bousfield | 29 | 0 | Rookie | |||
| Dick Burton | 41 | 2 | 3 | 1–2–0 | 33.33 | |
| Fred Daly | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0–2–0 | 0.00 | |
| Max Faulkner | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0–2–0 | 0.00 | |
| Sam King | 38 | 2 | 3 | 1–1–1 | 50.00 | |
| Arthur Lees | 41 | 1 | 2 | 0–2–0 | 0.00 | |
| Dai Rees | 36 | 2 | 4 | 1–2–1 | 37.50 | |
| Charlie Ward | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0–2–0 | 0.00 | |
 Team USA | ||||||
| Name | Age | Previous Ryder Cups | Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Hogan | 37 | Non-playing captain | ||||
| Skip Alexander | 31 | 0 | Rookie | |||
| Jimmy Demaret | 39 | 1 | 2 | 2–0–0 | 100.00 | |
| Bob Hamilton | 33 | 0 | Rookie | |||
| Chick Harbert | 34 | 0 | Rookie | |||
| Dutch Harrison | 39 | 1 | 1 | 1–0–0 | 100.00 | |
| Clayton Heafner | 35 | 0 | Rookie | |||
| Lloyd Mangrum | 35 | 1 | 2 | 2–0–0 | 100.00 | |
| Johnny Palmer | 31 | 0 | Rookie | |||
| Sam Snead | 37 | 2 | 3 | 3–0–0 | 100.00 | |
| Results | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faulkner/Adams | 2 & 1 | Harrison/Palmer | |
| Daly/Bousfield | 4 & 2 | Hamilton/Alexander | |
| Ward/King | 4 & 3 | Demaret/Heafner | |
| Burton/Lees | 1 up | Snead/Mangrum | |
| 3 | Session | 1 | |
| 3 | Overall | 1 |
18 hole scores: Faulkner/Adams: 3 up, Daly/Bousfield: 2 up, Demaret/Heafner: 1 up, Burton/Lees v Snead/Mangrum: all square.[12]
| Results | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Faulkner | 8 & 7 | Dutch Harrison | |
| Jimmy Adams | 2 & 1 | Johnny Palmer | |
| Charlie Ward | 6 & 5 | Sam Snead | |
| Dai Rees | 6 & 4 | Bob Hamilton | |
| Dick Burton | 3 & 2 | Clayton Heafner | |
| Sam King | 4 & 3 | Chick Harbert | |
| Arthur Lees | 7 & 6 | Jimmy Demaret | |
| Fred Daly | 4 & 3 | Lloyd Mangrum | |
| 2 | Session | 6 | |
| 5 | Overall | 7 |
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.[13]
Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.
Source:[6]
| Player | Points | Overall | Singles | Foursomes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | ||
| 1 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 1–0–0 | ||
| 1 | 1–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 | ||
| 1 | 1–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 | ||
| 1 | 1–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 | ||
| 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | ||
| 1 | 1–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–0–0 | ||
| 1 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | ||
| 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
Laurie Ayton, Jnr did not play in any matches.
| Player | Points | Overall ! | Singles | Foursomes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 | ||
| 2 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | ||
| 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | ||
| 1 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | ||
| 1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 | ||
| 2 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | ||
| 1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 | ||
| 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | ||
| 1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 |