The 12th Ryder Cup Match ended on this date in 1957 at Lindrick Golf Club in England. The Great Britain team, led by captain Dai Rees, defeated the American squad, 7½ to 4½, winning for the first time since 1933. And the English great Harry Vardon won his only non-Open Championship major when he won the 1900 U.S. Open on this date at Chicago Golf Club. He defeated his fellow English star J.H. Taylor by two shots.
On this date in 1895, the inaugural U.S. Open was held at Newport Country Club, in Rhode Island, with Englishman Horace Rawlins winning by two shots over Scot Willie Dunn. There were just 36 holes played by the small field of 11 players. Also, a couple of Open Championships finished on this date. In 1873 on the Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotsman Tom Kidd defeated fellow Scot Jamie Anderson by one stroke. In 1878 at Prestwick, Anderson won his second of three straight by beating Bob Kirk by two strokes.
The 1884 and 1885 Open Championships ended on this date. In 1884, at Prestwick GC, Jack Simpson won in windy conditions by four strokes from fellow Scots Douglas Rolland and Willie Fernie. In 1885, Bob Martin won by one shot over Archie Simpson at the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland.
The 1876 Open Golf Championship, held at The Old Course at St. Andrews, was played on this date, with Scotsman Bob Martin ruled the champion golfer when fellow Scotsman Davie Strath refused to take part in a playoff after the two of them finished with a 176 total. The entire affair is worth reading in more detail from a golf history book. Strath decided against playing the playoff because of a dispute with the Royal & Ancient.
On this date in 1921, The Haig—Walter Hagen—won the 4th PGA Championship at Inwood Country Club on Long Island, New York. Hagen defeated two-time champion Jim Barnes of England, 3 & 2, to capture his third major championship. And the 1950 U.S. Women’s Open concluded on September 30 at Rolling Hills C.C., in Wichita, Kansas, so I’m taking the liberty of using it on October 1 to mention it. The USGA didn’t start conducting the Women’s Open until 1953, so the 1950 edition was run by the LPGA. Babe Zaharias tied the tournament scoring record, 291, to beat amateur Betsy Rawls by 9 shots.
The 1882 Open Championship, the 22nd Open, was held on this date at the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland. Bob Ferguson won for the third straight time, with a 171 total, by three strokes over Willie Fernie, who would win in 1883. Also, the European team won two of three Ryder Cup matches that ended on this date. The American team won in 1937 in an away match at Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club, 8-4, the first time the home team had lost in the Ryder Cup. In 2012, Europe beat an uninspired American team, 14½-13½, at Medinah to retain the cup by overcoming a 10-6 Day 2 lead. And in 2018, at Le Golf National, Europe crushed the Americans, 17½–10½, as Spain’s Sergio Garcia became the highest point scorer in RC history with 25½.
The 1879 Open Championship was the 19th Open, and was held on September 27 and 29 at the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland. Jamie Anderson won by three strokes over Jamie Allan and Andrew Kirkaldy. The championship was held on the 27th, but the final day was the 29th when Allan and Kirkaldy had an 18-hole playoff to decide second- and third-place position, with Kirkaldy winning 91-92. And one of the most contentious Ryder Cups concluded on this date in 1991 when the “War by the Shore” at Kiawah Island ended in a 14½-13½ U.S. victory. Bernhard Langer missed a 6-foot par putt on the final hole in a Singles match with Hale Irwin that would have ended the team match in a 14-14 tie. The American team celebration caused an uproar.
The 1921 PGA Championship was played from September 26 to October 1 at Inwood Country Club at Far Rockaway, New York, and won by Walter Hagen for the third time. He beat two-time champion Jim Barnes, 3 and 2, in the final. And a pair of Ryder Cup matches ended on this date. In 1997 at Valderrama Golf Club in Spain, Europe won 14½-13½ for the first of six straight victories at home by the Europeans. And in 2014, at Gleneagles in Scotland, Europe won 16½-11½.
On this day in 1930, golfer Bobby Jones completed his revered Grand Slam of winning four major championships in the same year. The four were the U.S. Open, The Open, and U.S. Amateur and The Amateur Championship. Jones was the first and only golfer in history to win the four big events of his time in the same calendar year. On this date he beat Gene Homans, 8 and 7, at the U.S. Amateur at Merion. On this date in 1987, one of the most pivotal Ryder Cups concluded at Muirfield Village in Ohio, Jack Nicklaus’ course. The European team, captained by Tony Jacklin, beat the Nicklaus-led Americans, 15-13, for the first loss by the U.S. on home soil in 60 years of competition. The U.S. had been 13-0 at home.
A pair of close U.S. victories in the Ryder Cup on this date in the 1990s are a couple of the latest grand moments the Americans have had to celebrate as Europe is now the dominating team in the biennial series. In 1993 at The Belfry, the U.S. won 15-13, for captain Tom Watson, with Davis Love III clinching the Cup with a 1-up victory over Italy’s Costantino Rocca. And in 1999, the Americans won the fabled match at The Country Club, 14½-13½, after trailing 10-6 going into the singles and making a monumental comeback. The victory didn’t come without a price, though. The U.S. players were chastised for poor team sportsmanship. And the 1861 Open Championship ended on this date at Prestwick Golf Club, Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the second Open Championship and had a field of 10 professionals and eight amateurs. The winner was Tom Morris, Sr., aka Old Tom, by four shots over Willie Park, Sr. with a score of 163.
In the wake of my new book on Arnold Palmer, “The Ultimate Arnie,” being released in August, special note is made of today’s date being the day in 2016 Arnold Palmer died at age 87. In addition to his seven majors, Palmer is one of the most memorable figures in Ryder Cup history in numerous statistical categories and a two-time winning captain. Also, the 1926 PGA Championship ended on this date, at Salisbury Golf Club on Long Island in East Meadow, New York, with Walter Hagen beating Leo Diegel, 5 and 3, in the final. The victory was Hagen’s third straight, fourth overall and he would eventually win five.
A pair of Ryder Cups concluded on this date. In 1995 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., Europe won the 31st Ryder Cup in a thriller 14½-13½ with Irishman Philip Walton beating Jay Haas for the clinching point. European team beating the U.S. in a thriller, 14½-13½. It was a stinging defeat for the Americans to lose on home turf. And in 2006, at the K Club, Ireland, Europe won a third straight time, this one in a breeze, 18½-9½.
A pair of Open Championships ended on this date in the 1800s. In 1868, in the Ninth Open, at Prestwick, Young Tom Morris shot 154 and won by three shots over his father at just age 17. And in 1892, at Muirfield, Harold Hilton also won by three over John Ball, Hugh Kirkaldy and Sandy Herd.
Willie Anderson won the 1905 and 11th U.S. Open on this date at the Myopia Hunt Club with a 314 score, two ahead of Alex Smith. Anderson won for the third straight year.
The 21st Ryder Cup Match ended on this date in 1975 at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The United States team won over Great Britain and Ireland, 21 to 11 points. And on this date in 2008, the Ryder Cup ended at Valhalla Golf Club with the American team, utilizing captain Paul Azinger’s “pod” coaching method, winning over the European team, 16½-11½.
One of the milestone moments in golf history took place on today’s date in 1913. After tying at 12 over par for four rounds, American Francis Ouimet and England’s Harry Vardon and Ted Ray played a playoff on this date at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The outcome remained in doubt after nine holes when all three shot an even-par 38. From there, the hometown player Ouimet shot a bogeyless 34 coming in for a 72, one under par. Vardon faltered with 77 and Ray had 78. The result was viewed as a major upset to have an American defeat the normally more talented players from England and Scotland. And the 1981 Ryder Cup ended on this day at Walton Heath Golf Club in Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, England, southwest of London, with the United States winning 18½ to 9½ points. It is the largest margin of victory by the U.S. over a European team (since 1979).
On this date in 1913, American Francis Ouimet and Englishmen Harry Vardon and Ted Ray tied at 304 after four rounds of the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The three were tied after 54 holes and each shot 79 in the final round. They were set to play an 18-hole playoff on September 20. Clifford Ann Creed won the 1965 LPGA Visalia Golf Open on this date in California. She shot four under par and won by a stroke over Susie Maxwell.
The 1863 Open Championship was played on this date, with Willie Park Sr. winning by two shots over Tom Morris Sr., also known as Old Tom. Park shot 168 in three 12-hole rounds played in one day, beating out the field of 14 players at Prestwick Golf Club. And on this date in 1892, the winner of the 1924 U.S. Open, Cyril Walker, was born in Manchester, England. He came to the U.S. in 1914 and was working out of Englewood Country Club when he won the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills. But he died destitute in 1948 in New Jersey at age 55.
The third U.S. Open was held on this date in 1897. The 35 players played two rounds at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois. Joe Lloyd was the winner by a mere one shot over Willie Anderson, who would become a four-time winner. Lloyd of England won $150.
Tom Morris Sr., aka Old Tom Morris, won the Open Championship for the third time when he won on this date in 1864 with a score of 167 at Prestwick Golf Club. He finished two shots ahead of Andrew Strath in the field of 16. And on this date in 1953, 1976 U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate was born in Macon, Georgia. His victory came as a 22-year-old rookie with great promise for many more majors that never came, partly due to a shoulder injury.