The 1st Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts. The first competition was dominated by the United States who won by the then landslide score of 9–2 points. USA Captain Walter Hagen became the first winning captain to lift the Ryder Cup. Samuel Ryder, the competition's founder was unable to be present at Worcester Country Club for the inaugural event due to ill health at the time. Ted Ray was the first captain to represent the Great Britain team.
Format The Ryder Cup is a match play golf event, with each match worth one point. From this inaugural event 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, 6 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 36 holes.
Teams Source:
Team USANameAgeWalter Hagen – captain 34Leo Diegel 28Al Espinosa 36Johnny Farrell 26Johnny Golden 31Bill Mehlhorn 28Gene Sarazen 25Joe Turnesa 26Al Watrous 28
Team Great BritainNameAge Ted Ray – captain 50 Aubrey Boomer 29 Archie Compston 34 George Duncan 43 George Gadd 37 Arthur Havers 28 Herbert Jolly 32 Fred Robson 42 Charles Whitcombe 31
A sub-committee of the Professional Golfers' Association was appointed to choose the Great Britain team for the first official Ryder Cup. This consisted of Harry Vardon, J.H. Taylor and James Braid."A Professional Selection Committee". The Times, Wednesday, March 2, 1927; pg. 8; Issue 44519; col B. In March 1927 an initial group of 9 players was selected to represent Great Britain. These consisted of the above 9 players but with Abe Mitchell instead of Jolly."British Professional Team". The Times, March 4, 1927; pg. 16; Issue 44521; col E. Later in March it was announced that Abe Mitchell would be the captain of the team."British Professional Team". The Times, March 16, 1927; pg. 6; Issue 44531; col D. However, in May, his health gave some concern. It was eventually decided that he was unfit to travel."British Ryder Cup Team". The Times, May 21, 1927; pg. 5; Issue 44587; col G. Later he was operated on for appendicitis.
Seven members of the team left on the Aquitania on May 21, Boomer being picked up in Cherbourg. Ray was appointed the new captain."The British Team for America". The Times, May 23, 1927; pg. 7; Issue 44588; col A. George Philpot, editor of the British Golf Illustrated magazine, was the team manager and travelled with the team. With the team a man short, the PGA Secretary Percy Perrins recruited Jolly who sailed on a later boat, the Majestic, and arrived in New York on May 31, four days after the rest of the team.
Friday's foursome matches Results Ray/Robson 2 & 1Hagen/GoldenDuncan/Compston 8 & 6Farrell/TurnesaHavers/Jolly 3 & 2Sarazen/WatrousBoomer/Whitcombe 7 & 5Diegel/Mehlhorn 1 Session 3 1 Overall 3
Saturday's singles matches Results Archie Compston 1 upBill MehlhornAubrey Boomer 5 & 4Johnny FarrellHerbert Jolly 8 & 7Johnny GoldenTed Ray 7 & 5Leo DiegelCharles WhitcombehalvedGene SarazenArthur Havers 2 & 1Walter HagenFred Robson 3 & 2Al WatrousGeorge Duncan 1 upJoe Turnesa 1 Session 6 2 Overall 9
Individual player records Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.
Source:
United States Player Points Overall Singles FoursomesLeo Diegel 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0Johnny Farrell 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0Johnny Golden 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0Walter Hagen 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0Bill Mehlhorn 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0Gene Sarazen 1.5 1–0–1 0–0–1 1–0–0Joe Turnesa 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0Al Watrous 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0
Al Espinosa did not play in any matches.
Great Britain Player Points Overall Singles FoursomesAubrey Boomer 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0Archie Compston 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0George Duncan 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0Arthur Havers 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Herbert Jolly 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Ted Ray 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Fred Robson 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Charles Whitcombe 1.5 1–0–1 0–0–1 1–0–0
George Gadd did not play in any matches.
References
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