1953 Ryder Cup: USA Pulls Out Win Late

The 1953 Ryder Cup was the most closely contested since the 1933 Ryder Cup, which Great Britain won, 6.5 to 5.5. The score was the same here, but Team USA was the winner in 1953. This was the 10th time the Ryder Cup was played.

Dates: Oct. 2-3, 1953
Score: USA 6.5, Great Britain 5.5
Site: Wentworth Golf Club in Wentworth, England
Captains: USA - Lloyd Mangrum; Great Britain - Henry Cotton

Following the outcome here, the all-time standings at the Ryder Cup were eight wins for the United States and two wins for Great Britain.

United States
Jack Burke Jr.
Walter Burkemo
Dave Douglas
Fred Haas Jr.
Ted Kroll
Lloyd Mangrum
Cary Middlecoff
Ed "Porky" Oliver
Sam Snead
Jim Turnesa

Great Britain
Jimmy Adams, Scotland
Peter Alliss, England
Harry Bradshaw, Ireland
Eric Brown, Scotland
Fred Daly, Northern Ireland
Max Faulkner, England
Bernard Hunt, England
John Panton, Scotland
Dai Rees, Wales
Harry Weetman, England

Mangrum was player-captain for the USA.

The Americans started hot in the Day 1 foursomes, winning three of the four matches. But the Brits came back in Day 2 singles, winning three of the first four singles games to square the score at that point at 4-4.

Cary Middlecoff beat Max Faulkner, and Harry Bradshaw clipped Fred Haas Jr., which made the score 5-5 and left two matches on the course.

Those two matches were Jim Turnesa vs. Peter Alliss and Dave Douglas vs. Bernard Hunt. And both matches went the distance, reaching the 36th hole.

Alliss - making the first of his eight career appearances at the Ryder Cup - showed his rookie nerves with a double bogey on the last hole, giving Turnesa a 1-up victory. And Hunt 3-putted the final hole, letting Douglas halve that match.

According to the PGA of America, USA player-captain Lloyd Mangrum vowed afterward to never captain the team again, "because of the 9,000 deaths I suffered in the last hour." Coming from Mangrum - a man who fought in World War II, going ashore on D-Day - that's really saying something about how nerve-racking the Ryder Cup could be even in this era.

Jackie Burke was the only American golfer to post a 2-0-0 record. The Irish pair of Fred Daly and Harry Bradshaw were each 2-0-0 for Great Britain. They posted the Brits' only foursomes victory, and Daly won his singles game over Ted Kroll by a 9-and-7 score.

Played over two days, all matches 36 holes, formats used were foursomes and singles.

Day 1 Foursomes

• Dave Douglas/Ed Oliver, U.S., def. Harry Weetman/Peter Alliss, GB, 2 and 1
• Lloyd Mangrum/Sam Snead, U.S., def. Eric Brown/John Panton, GB, 8 and 7
• Jack Burke Jr./Ted Kroll, U.S., def. Jimmy Adams/Bernard Hunt, GB, 7 and 5
• Fred Daly/Harry Bradshaw, GB, def. Walter Burkemo/Cary Middlecoff, 1-up

Day 2 Singles

• Jack Burke Jr., U.S., def. Dai Rees, GB, 2 and 1
• Fred Daly, GB, def. Ted Kroll, U.S., 9 and 7
• Eric Brown, GB, def. Lloyd Mangrum, U.S., 2-up
• Harry Weetman, GB, def. Sam Snead, U.S., 1-up
• Cary Middlecoff, U.S., def. Max Faulkner, GB, 3 and 1
• Jim Turnesa, U.S., def. Peter Alliss, GB, 1-up
• Bernard Hunt, GB, halved with Dave Douglas, U.S.
• Harry Bradshaw, GB, def. Fred Haas Jr., U.S., 3 and 2

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

United States
Jack Burke Jr., 2-0-0
Walter Burkemo, 0-1-0
Dave Douglas, 1-0-1
Fred Haas Jr., 0-1-0
Ted Kroll, 1-1-0
Lloyd Mangrum, 1-1-0
Cary Middlecoff, 1-1-0
Ed "Porky" Oliver, 1-0-0
Sam Snead, 1-1-0
Jim Turnesa, 1-0-0

Great Britain
Jimmy Adams, 0-1-0
Peter Alliss, 0-2-0
Harry Bradshaw, 2-0-0
Eric Brown, 1-1-0
Fred Daly, 2-0-0
Max Faulkner, 0-1-0
Bernard Hunt, 0-1-1
John Panton, 0-1-0
Dai Rees, 0-1-0
Harry Weetman, 1-1-0