1951 Ryder Cup: USA 9.5, Great Britain 2.5

The 1951 Ryder Cup was the site of Sam Snead's first captaincy for Team USA (he captained three times total), and in this one he was player captain for a big U.S. victory.

Dates: Nov. 2-4, 1951
Score: USA 9.5, Great Britain 2.5
Site: Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina
Captains: Great Britain - Arthur Lacey; USA - Sam Snead

With this outcome, the all-time standings in the Ryder Cup to this point were seven wins for Team USA and two wins for Team Great Britain.

1951 Ryder Cup Team Rosters

Notes on the 1951 Ryder Cup

Teams Great Britain and USA split the first two games of the 1951 Ryder Cup, but from that point the British side won only one more match (and halved another).

But Arthur Lees won both his matches for Team GB, beating Porky Oliver in singles after teaming with Charles Ward for a win in foursomes. There was just too much firepower on the American side, however: Player-captain Sam Snead was 2-0-0, as were Jackie Burke, Jimmy Demaret, Lloyd Mangrum and Ben Hogan.

Snead captained Team USA three times, here in 1951, plus the 1959 and 1969 teams.

Demaret and Hogan both made their final appearances as Ryder Cup players in 1951. Hogan, who dealt daily with leg pain as a result of his 1949 car crash, essentially gave up match play after this point, avoiding the 36-hole days. Hogan played in only two Ryder Cups (1947, 1951), but captained the American side three times (1947, 1949, 1967).

As for Demaret, he played in three Cups - 1947, 1949, 1951 - and went 2-0-0 in each. His 6-0-0 career record represents the most wins in Ryder Cup history without a loss.

This Ryder Cup took place over three days but featured only two days of play. On the middle day, the teams attended a college football game.

Match Results

Foursomes played the first day of competition, singles the second day. All matches 36 holes.

Foursomes

• Clayton Heafner/Jack Burke Jr., U.S., def Max Faulkner/Dai Rees, GB, 5 and 3
• Charles Ward/Arthur Lees, GB, def. Ed Oliver/Henry Ransom, U.S., 2 and 1
• Sam Snead/Lloyd Mangrum, U.S., def. Jimmy Adams/John Panton, GB, 5 and 4
• Ben Hogan/Jimmy Demaret, U.S., def. Fred Daly/Ken Bousfield, GB, 5 and 4

Singles

• Jack Burke Jr., U.S., def. Jimmy Adams, GB, 4 and 3
• Jimmy Demaret, U.S., def. Dai Rees, GB, 2-up
• Fred Daly, GB, halved with Clayton Heafner, U.S.
• Lloyd Mangrum, U.S., def. Harry Weetman, GB, 6 and 5
• Arthur Lees, GB, def. Ed Oliver, U.S., 2 and 1
• Ben Hogan, U.S., def. Charles Ward, GB, 3 and 2
• Skip Alexander, U.S., def. John Panton, GB, 8 and 7
• Sam Snead, U.S., def. Max Faulkner, GB, 4 and 3

Player Records at the 1951 Ryder Cup

Each golfer's record, listed as wins-losses-halves:

1949 Ryder Cup | 1953 Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup Results