The 17th Ryder Cup Matches were held October 20–22, 1967 at the Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. The United States team won the competition by a record score of 2312 to 812 points.[1][2][3] To date, the 15-point victory margin remains the largest at the Ryder Cup.[4]

17th Ryder Cup Matches
DatesOctober 20–22, 1967
VenueChampions Golf Club
LocationHouston, Texas, U.S.
Captains
United States 2312 812 United Kingdom
United States wins the Ryder Cup
← 1965
1969 →
Houston is located in the United States
Houston
Houston
Houston is located in Texas
Houston
Houston

Ben Hogan was named the captain of the U.S. team in May 1967, five months before the matches.[5] He opted for the U.S. team to use the smaller British golf ball; the same weight, its diameter was .06 inches (1.5 mm) smaller at 1.62 inches (4.11 cm).[6]

The match had originally been arranged for June 9–11, a date that the British P.G.A. had reluctantly agreed to, as it interfered with the British tournament season. In April 1966, it was agreed that the dates be changed to October 20–22.[7]

The course hosted the U.S. Open two years later in 1969.

Format

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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, 1612 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.

Teams

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Source: [8][9]

  Team USA
Name Age Points
rank
Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Ben Hogan 55 Non-playing captain
Billy Casper 36 1 3 14 8–3–3 67.86
Arnold Palmer 38 2 3 16 11–4–1 71.88
Gay Brewer 35 3 0 Rookie
Doug Sanders 34 4 0 Rookie
Gene Littler 37 5 3 14 5–3–6 57.14
Julius Boros 47 6 3 11 7–2–2 72.73
Bobby Nichols 31 7 0 Rookie
Al Geiberger 30 8 0 Rookie
Gardner Dickinson 40 9 0 Rookie
Johnny Pott 31 10 2 3 1–2–0 33.33

The British team was based on a points system using performances in 1966 and 1967, starting with the 1966 Schweppes PGA Close Championship and finishing after the 1967 Open Championship.[10][11]

  Team Great Britain
Name Age Points
rank
Previous
Ryder Cups
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
  Dai Rees 54 Non-playing captain
  Peter Alliss 36 1 6 21 9–8–4 52.38
  Hugh Boyle 31 9 0 Rookie
  Neil Coles 33 3 3 16 5–8–3 40.62
  Malcolm Gregson 24 8 0 Rookie
  Brian Huggett 30 7 1 5 2–2–1 50.00
  Bernard Hunt 37 4 6 21 6–12–3 35.71
  Tony Jacklin 23 5 0 Rookie
  Christy O'Connor Snr 42 6 6 19 7–11–1 39.47
  Dave Thomas 33 2 3 13 1–9–3 19.23
  George Will 30 10 2 10 2–7–1 25.00

Friday matches

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October 20, 1967

Morning foursomes

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  Results  
Huggett/Will halved Casper/Boros
Alliss/O'Connor   2 & 1 Palmer/Dickinson
Jacklin/Thomas   4 & 3 Sanders/Brewer
Hunt/Coles   6 & 5 Nichols/Pott
112 Session 212
112 Overall 212

Afternoon foursomes

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  Results  
Huggett/Will   1 up Casper/Boros
Gregson/Boyle   5 & 4 Dickinson/Palmer
Jacklin/Thomas   3 & 2 Littler/Geiberger
Alliss/O'Connor   2 & 1 Nichols/Pott
1 Session 3
212 Overall 512

Saturday matches

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October 21, 1967

Morning four-ball

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  Results  
Alliss/O'Connor   3 & 2 Casper/Brewer
Hunt/Coles   1 up Nichols/Pott
Jacklin/Thomas   1 up Littler/Geiberger
Huggett/Will   3 & 2 Dickinson/Sanders
0 Session 4
212 Overall 912

Afternoon four-ball

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  Results  
Hunt/Coles   5 & 3 Casper/Brewer
Alliss/Gregson   3 & 2 Dickinson/Sanders
Will/Boyle   1 up Palmer/Boros
Jacklin/Thomas halved Littler/Geiberger
12 Session 312
3 Overall 13

Sunday matches

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October 22, 1967

Morning singles

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  Results  
Hugh Boyle   4 & 3 Gay Brewer
Peter Alliss   2 & 1 Billy Casper
Tony Jacklin   3 & 2 Arnold Palmer
Brian Huggett   1 up Julius Boros
Neil Coles   2 & 1 Doug Sanders
Malcolm Gregson   4 & 2 Al Geiberger
Dave Thomas halved Gene Littler
Bernard Hunt halved Bobby Nichols
3 Session 5
6 Overall 18

Afternoon singles

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  Results  
Brian Huggett   5 & 3 Arnold Palmer
Peter Alliss   2 & 1 Gay Brewer
Tony Jacklin   3 & 2 Gardner Dickinson
Christy O'Connor   3 & 2 Bobby Nichols
George Will   3 & 1 Johnny Pott
Malcolm Gregson   2 & 1 Al Geiberger
Bernard Hunt halved Julius Boros
Neil Coles   2 & 1 Doug Sanders
212 Session 512
812 Overall 2312

Individual player records

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

Source: [8]

United States

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Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Julius Boros 3 2–1–2 0–1–1 1–0–1 1–0–0
Gay Brewer 3 3–2–0 1–1–0 0–1–0 2–0–0
Billy Casper 4.5 4–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–1 2–0–0
Gardner Dickinson 5 5–0–0 1–0–0 2–0–0 2–0–0
Al Geiberger 3.5 3–1–1 2–0–0 0–1–0 1–0–1
Gene Littler 2 1–1–2 0–0–1 0–1–0 1–0–1
Bobby Nichols 4.5 4–0–1 1–0–1 2–0–0 1–0–0
Arnold Palmer 5 5–0–0 2–0–0 2–0–0 1–0–0
Johnny Pott 4 4–0–0 1–0–0 2–0–0 1–0–0
Doug Sanders 2 2–3–0 0–2–0 0–1–0 2–0–0

Great Britain

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Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Peter Alliss 1 1–5–0 1–1–0 0–2–0 0–2–0
Hugh Boyle 0 0–3–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Neil Coles 2 2–3–0 2–0–0 0–1–0 0–2–0
Malcolm Gregson 0 0–4–0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Brian Huggett 1.5 1–3–1 1–1–0 0–1–1 0–1–0
Bernard Hunt 1 0–3–2 0–0–2 0–1–0 0–2–0
Tony Jacklin 2.5 2–3–1 0–2–0 2–0–0 0–1–1
Christy O'Connor 0 0–4–0 0–1–0 0–2–0 0–1–0
Dave Thomas 3 2–1–2 0–0–1 2–0–0 0–1–1
George Will 0.5 0–4–1 0–1–0 0–1–1 0–2–0

Nicklaus absence

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Despite having won his seventh major title as a professional at the U.S. Open in June, 27-year-old Jack Nicklaus was not a member of the U.S. team. At the time, a five-year apprenticeship as a professional was required before Ryder Cup points could be earned. Nicklaus turned pro in November 1961 and was granted tournament status at the end of that year.[12] He expedited his status by passing PGA business classes in February 1966, and was granted full membership that June.[13] Only then was he eligible to accumulate Ryder Cup points, which ended with the Masters in April. Captain's selections did not exist in 1967 and Nicklaus was in a slump following his win at the Masters in 1966;[14] entering the Masters in 1967 as the two-time defending champion, he was in 13th place in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings. Also just off the team were Dave Marr and Bob Goalby.[15] Nicklaus and Goalby missed the cut at Augusta and Marr's T-16 finish was not enough to pass Johnny Pott for the tenth and final spot on the team.[9] Pott was 4–0–0 in the competition.

The outmoded five-year rule had similarly kept Arnold Palmer off the teams in 1957 and 1959. Don January won the PGA Championship in 1967 in July, but was also at home; the only reigning major champion on either team in 1967 was Masters champion Gay Brewer.

Nicklaus competed in the Ryder Cup as a player from 1969 through 1981, missing only in 1979. He was the non-playing captain in 1983 and 1987.

References

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  1. ^ Wright, Alfred (October 30, 1967). "Ben and Arnie liven up the weekend". Sports Illustrated. p. 56.
  2. ^ "British swamped in Ryder Cup play". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. UPI. October 23, 1967. p. 4B.
  3. ^ "Palmer ace in Cup win, 23½ to 8½". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. October 23, 1967. p. 34.
  4. ^ "Ryder Cup 2006 » History » 1967 Results". The PGA of America. Archived from the original on October 22, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
  5. ^ "Hogan named Ryder captain". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Florida. Associated Press. May 25, 1967. p. 20.
  6. ^ "Hogan elects small ball for Ryder Cup matches". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. October 2, 1967. p. 29.
  7. ^ "October date for Ryder Cup contest". Glasgow Herald. April 6, 1966. p. 7.
  8. ^ a b "2016 Ryder Cup Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Five newcomers chosen for Ryder Cup team". Miami News. Associated Press. April 13, 1967. p. 3B.
  10. ^ "Butler favoured to win Schweppes tournament". Glasgow Herald. April 28, 1966. p. 13.
  11. ^ "Will wins Ryder Cup place". Glasgow Herald. July 17, 1967. p. 4.
  12. ^ "Nicklaus must return to school to qualify for Ryder Cup team". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. December 18, 1965. p. 38.
  13. ^ Auclair, T.J. (June 1, 2016). "Jack Nicklaus celebrates 50 years of PGA Membership". PGA of America. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  14. ^ "Big Nick may miss action on Cup team". Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina. UPI. March 29, 1967. p. 8.
  15. ^ "Ryder spot is elusive for Nicklaus". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. March 28, 1967. p. 12.
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29°59′02″N 95°31′52″W / 29.984°N 95.531°W / 29.984; -95.531