The 16th Ryder Cup Matches were held 7–9 October 1965 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. For the first time commercialisation started to make a presence on site. The United States team won the competition by a score of 19 to 12 points.

Format The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. From 1963 through 1971 the competition format was as follows: Day 1 — 8 foursomes (alternate shot) matches, 4 each in morning and afternoon sessions Day 2 — 8 four-ball (better ball) matches, 4 each in morning and afternoon sessions Day 3 — 16 singles matches, 8 each in morning and afternoon sessions With a total of 32 points, 16 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.

Teams Source:

The British team was determined using a points system. Compared to the system used in 1963, there was more emphasis on high finishes, points only being allocated to the leading 20 rather than the leading 40. Points were based on the actual finishing position, whereas previously non-eligible players had been excluded in determining positions. In addition, points were earned in a number of invitation events, including the Dunlop Masters, the Martini International and the Esso Golden Tournament. The Open champion remained an automatic choice but the News of the World Match Play champion was no longer guaranteed a place. Counting tournaments started with the 1964 Carroll Sweet Afton Tournament and finished with the 1965 Esso Golden Tournament. For the 1965 event the British PGA reduced the period that a tournament professional had to wait before becoming eligible for the Ryder Cup team from five years to three. This meant that ex-amateur golfers like Guy Wolstenholme (who turned professional in late 1960) and Doug Sewell (1961) became eligible. The field for the 1965 Esso Golden Tournament were the first 15 in the Ryder Cup points list. Before the event the leading seven were guaranteed their place in the team; the remaining eight being in contention for the three remaining places. Jimmy Hitchcock and Dave Thomas who were 8th and 9th before the event retained their places in the top 10 but Wolstenholme, who started 10th, was passed by George Will, the winner of the tournament.

 Team Great BritainNameAgePointsrankPreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentage Harry Weetman 44 Non-playing captain Peter Alliss 34 5 5 15 4–7–4 40.00 Peter Butler 33 3 0 Rookie Neil Coles 31 2 2 10 2–5–3 35.00 Jimmy Hitchcock 35 10 0 Rookie Bernard Hunt 35 1 5 15 3–9–3 30.00 Jimmy Martin 41 7 0 Rookie Christy O'Connor Snr 40 4 5 14 4–9–1 32.14 Lionel Platts 30 6 0 Rookie Dave Thomas 31 8 2 8 0–5–3 18.75 George Will 28 9 1 4 1–3–0 25.00

Despite having won his fourth major title as a professional at the Masters Tournament in April, 25-year-old Jack Nicklaus was not a member of the U.S. team. Eligibility rules set by the PGA prevented him from participating in the Ryder Cup until 1969. He competed as a player through 1981, missing only the 1979 edition, and was the non-playing captain of the U.S. team in 1983 and 1987.

Pott did not play due to a back injury.

 Team USANameAgePreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentageByron Nelson 53 Non-playing captainJulius Boros 45 2 6 3–1–2 66.67Billy Casper 34 2 8 7–0–1 93.75Tommy Jacobs 30 0 RookieDon January 35 0 RookieTony Lema 31 1 5 3–0–2 80.00Gene Littler 35 2 8 3–1–4 62.50Dave Marr 31 0 RookieArnold Palmer 36 2 10 7–2–1 75.00Johnny Pott 29 1 3 1–2–0 33.33Ken Venturi 34 0 Rookie

Thursday's matches Morning foursomes Results Platts/Butler 1 upBoros/LemaThomas/Will 6 & 5Palmer/MarrHunt/Coles 2 & 1Casper/LittlerAlliss/O'Connor 5 & 4Venturi/January 2 Session 2 2 Overall 2

Afternoon foursomes Results Thomas/Will 6 & 5Palmer/MarrAlliss/O'Connor 2 & 1Casper/LittlerMartin/Hitchcock 5 & 4Boros/LemaHunt/Coles 3 & 2Venturi/January 2 Session 2 4 Overall 4

Friday's matches Morning four-ball Results Thomas/Will 1 upJanuary/JacobsPlatts/ButlerhalvedCasper/LittlerAlliss/O'Connor 6 & 4Palmer/MarrHunt/Coles 1 upBoros/Lema 1 Session 2 5 Overall 6

Afternoon four-ball Results Alliss/O'Connor 2 upPalmer/MarrThomas/Will 1 upJanuary/JacobsPlatts/ButlerhalvedCasper/LittlerHunt/Coles 1 upVenturi/Lema 1 Session 2 7 Overall 9

Saturday's matches Morning singles Results Jimmy Hitchcock 3 & 2Arnold PalmerLionel Platts 4 & 2Julius BorosPeter Butler 1 upTony LemaNeil Coles 2 upDave MarrBernard Hunt 2 upGene LittlerDave Thomas 2 & 1Tommy JacobsPeter Alliss 1 upBilly CasperGeorge WillhalvedDon January 2 Session 5 9 Overall 14

Afternoon singles Results Christy O'Connor 6 & 4Tony LemaJimmy Hitchcock 2 & 1Julius BorosPeter Butler 2 upArnold PalmerPeter Alliss 3 & 1Ken VenturiNeil Coles 3 & 2Billy CasperGeorge Will 2 & 1Gene LittlerBernard Hunt 1 upDave MarrLionel Platts 1 upTommy Jacobs 3 Session 5 12 Overall 19

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

Source:

Great Britain Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes FourballsPeter Alliss 5 5–1–0 2–0–0 2–0–0 1–1–0Peter Butler 1 0–3–2 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–0–2Neil Coles 3 3–3–0 1–1–0 1–1–0 1–1–0Jimmy Hitchcock 0 0–3–0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–0–0Bernard Hunt 3 3–3–0 1–1–0 1–1–0 1–1–0Jimmy Martin 0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0 0–0–0Christy O'Connor 3 3–2–0 0–1–0 2–0–0 1–1–0Lionel Platts 2 1–2–2 1–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–2Dave Thomas 1 1–4–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 0–2–0George Will 1.5 1–4–1 0–1–1 1–1–0 0–2–0

United States Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes FourballsJulius Boros 4 4–1–0 2–0–0 2–0–0 0–1–0Billy Casper 2 1–3–2 0–2–0 1–1–0 0–0–2Tommy Jacobs 3 3–1–0 1–1–0 0–0–0 2–0–0Don January 2.5 2–2–1 0–0–1 0–2–0 2–0–0Tony Lema 5 5–1–0 2–0–0 2–0–0 1–1–0Gene Littler 3 2–2–2 1–1–0 1–1–0 0–0–2Dave Marr 4 4–2–0 2–0–0 1–1–0 1–1–0Arnold Palmer 4 4–2–0 2–0–0 1–1–0 1–1–0Ken Venturi 1 1–3–0 0–1–0 0–2–0 1–0–0

Johnny Pott did not play in any matches.

References

External links PGA of America: 1965 Ryder Cup