The 6th Ryder Cup Matches were held 29–30 June 1937 at the Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club in Southport, England. The United States team won the competition by a score of 8 to 4 points. It was the first time that the host team lost the competition and the second of seven consecutive wins for the U.S. side. The course had hosted the event four years earlier in 1933, Britain's last win until 1957.

Due to World War II, this was the final Ryder Cup for a full decade; the series resumed in 1947 in the U.S. at Portland, Oregon.

Format 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, points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 36 holes.

Teams Source:

From the start of 1937, Henry Cotton became professional to the Ashridge Golf Club and hence became eligible for selection for the British team."T.H. Cotton for Ashridge". The Times, Saturday, October 10, 1936; pg. 6; Issue 47502; col C. He had missed the 1931 edition because of a dispute and was not eligible in 1933 and 1935 because he was employed in Belgium. In April 1937, it was announced that, as in 1935, a selection committee of six would choose the Great Britain team for the 1937 Ryder Cup."Ryder Cup Selection Committee". The Times, Wednesday, April 14, 1937; pg. 6; Issue 47658; col F. In July, the team of ten was selected (as below). Charles Whitcombe was again chosen as the captain."British Team Selected". The Times, Tuesday, June 08, 1937; pg. 8; Issue 47705; col D.

 Team Great BritainNameAgePreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentage Charles Whitcombe – captain 41 5 8 3–2–3 56.25 Percy Alliss 40 3 4 2–1–1 62.50 Dick Burton 29 1 1 0–1–0 0.00 Henry Cotton 30 1 2 1–1–0 50.00 Bill Cox 27 1 2 0–1–1 25.00 Sam King 26 0 Rookie Arthur Lacey 33 1 1 0–1–0 0.00 Alf Padgham 30 2 4 0–4–0 0.00 Alf Perry 32 2 3 0–2–1 16.67 Dai Rees 24 0 Rookie

 Team USANameAgePreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentageWalter Hagen 44 Non-playing captainEd Dudley 36 2 2 1–1–0 50.00Ralph Guldahl 25 0 RookieTony Manero 32 0 RookieByron Nelson 25 0 RookieHenry Picard 30 1 2 2–0–0 100.00Johnny Revolta 26 1 2 2–0–0 100.00Gene Sarazen 35 5 10 6–2–2 70.00Denny Shute 32 2 4 2–2–0 50.00Horton Smith 29 4 4 3–0–1 87.50Sam Snead 25 0 Rookie

Tuesday's foursome matches Results Padgham/Cotton 4 & 2Dudley/NelsonLacey/Cox 2 & 1Guldahl/ManeroWhitcombe/ReeshalvedSarazen/ShuteAlliss/Burton 2 & 1Picard/Revolta Session Overall

18 hole scores: Padgham/Cotton v Dudley/Nelson: all square, Lacey/Cox: 1 up, Whitcombe/Rees v Sarazen/Shute: all square, Alliss/Burton: 3 up."The Ryder Cup - America Leads". The Times, Wednesday, June 30, 1937; pg. 7; Issue 47724.

Wednesday's singles matches Results Alf Padgham 8 & 7Ralph GuldahlSam KinghalvedDenny ShuteDai Rees 3 & 1Byron NelsonHenry Cotton 5 & 3Tony ManeroPercy Alliss 1 upGene SarazenDick Burton 5 & 4Sam SneadAlf Perry 2 & 1Ed DudleyArthur Lacey 2 & 1Henry Picard Session 4 Overall 8

18 hole scores: Guldahl: 6 up, King v Shute: all square, Rees: 1 up, Cotton: 2 up, Alliss: 1 up, Snead: 2 up, Dudley: 1 up, Picard: 1 up."Golf - US Win the Ryder Cup". The Times, Thursday, July 1, 1937; pg. 6; Issue 47725.

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

Source:

Great Britain Player Points Overall Singles FoursomesPercy Alliss 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0Dick Burton 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0Henry Cotton 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0Bill Cox 0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0Sam King 0.5 0–0–1 0–0–1 0–0–0Arthur Lacey 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Alf Padgham 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Alf Perry 0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–0Dai Rees 1.5 1–0–1 1–0–0 0–0–1Charles Whitcombe 0.5 0–0–1 0–0–0 0–0–1

United States Player Points Overall Singles FoursomesEd Dudley 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0Ralph Guldahl 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0Tony Manero 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0Byron Nelson 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0Henry Picard 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0Johnny Revolta 0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0Gene Sarazen 1.5 1–0–1 1–0–0 0–0–1Denny Shute 1 0–0–2 0–0–1 0–0–1Sam Snead 1 1–0–0 1–0–0 0–0–0

Horton Smith did not play in any matches.

References

External links

PGA of America: 1937 Ryder Cup About.com: 1937 Ryder Cup