Final Score: USA 7, Great Britain 5
When: Sept. 16-17
Where: Ganton Golf Club in Scarborough, England
Captains: USA - Ben Hogan; Great Britain - Charles Whitcombe

Controversies over the grooves in iron faces are nothing new in golf. Case in point: The grooves controversy at the 1949 Ryder Cup. Before the matches started, Team USA captain Ben Hogan (who was unable to play due to his car accident earlier in the year) challenged the legality of the grooves on the clubs of Great Britain team members.

He thought they failed to conform to the rules of the time on groove depth and sharpness.

The R&A investigated, and found that Hogan was right: The British grooves were non-conforming. There were no "equipment trailers" in 1949, so the club pro at host site Ganton Golf Club worked the night before the start of the matches, filing down the grooves to get them into accordance with the rules.

With their re-worked grooves, the British players jumped to the early lead, winning the Day 1 foursomes session 3-1.

But Dutch Harrison got the Americans off to a good start in singles, beating Max Faulkner 8 and 7, and Team USA went on to win six of the eight singles games and the Ryder Cup.

Charles Whitcome, who played in the very first Ryder Cup in 1927, was the Great Britain captain. Whitcombe was the last player from the original Ryder Cup to appear as a player or captain in the matches.

Team Rosters

• USA - Skip Alexander, Jimmy Demaret, Bob Hamilton, Chick Harbert, E.J. "Dutch" Harrison, Clayton Heafner, Lloyd Mangrum, Johnny Palmer, Sam Snead

• Great Britain - Jimmy Adams, Laurie Ayton, Ken Bousfield, Dick Burton, Fred Daly, Max Faulkner, Sam King, Arthur Lees, Dai Rees, Charles Ward

Foursomes

• Max Faulkner/Jimmy Adams, GB, def. E.J. "Dutch" Harrison/Johnny Palmer, U.S., 2 and 1
• Fred Daly/Ken Bousfield, GB, def. Bob Hamilton/Skip Alexander, U.S., 4 and 2
• Jimmy Demaret/Clayton Heafner, U.S., def. Charles Ward/Sam King, GB, 4 and 3
• Richard Burton/Arthur Lees, GB, def. Sam Snead/Lloyd Mangrum, U.S., 1-up

Singles

• E.J. "Dutch" Harrison, U.S., def. Max Faulkner, GB, 8 and 7
• Jimmy Adams, GB, def. Johnny Palmer, U.S., 2 and 1
• Sam Snead, U.S., def. Charles Ward, GB, 6 and 5
• Dai Rees, GB, def. Bob Hamilton, U.S., 6 and 4
• Clayton Heafner, U.S., def. Richard Burton, GB, 3 and 2
• Chick Harbert, U.S., def. Sam King, GB, 4 and 3
• Jimmy Demaret, U.S., def. Arthur Lees, 7 and 6
• Lloyd Mangrum, U.S., def. Fred Daly, GB, 4 and 3

Player Records

(wins-losses-halves)

USA
Skip Alexander, 0-1-0
Jimmy Demaret, 2-0-0
Bob Hamilton, 0-2-0
Chick Harbert, 1-0-0
E.J. "Dutch" Harrison, 1-1-0
Clayton Heafner, 2-0-0
Lloyd Mangrum, 1-1-0
Johnny Palmer, 0-2-0
Sam Snead, 1-1-0

Great Britain
Jimmy Adams, 2-0-0
Laurie Ayton, did not play
Ken Bousfield, 1-0-0
Dick Burton, 1-1-0
Fred Daly, 1-1-0
Max Faulkner, 1-1-0
Sam King, 0-2-0
Arthur Lees, 1-1-0
Dai Rees, 1-0-0
Charles Ward, 0-2-0

1947 Ryder Cup | 1951 Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup Results