The 7th Ryder Cup Matches were held November 1–2, 1947 at Portland Golf Club in Portland, Oregon, marking a resumption of the competition after a full decade. World War II forced cancellations from 1939 to 1945; the last competition was in 1937. The United States overwhelmed the British team, 11–1.

An invitation to renew the Ryder Cup was sent by the American P.G.A. in November 1946,"The Ryder Cup". The Times, Wednesday, November 20, 1946; pg. 2; Issue 50613. which was accepted by the British P.G.A. the next month."Ryder Cup Match in 1947". The Times, Thursday, December 12, 1946; pg. 2; Issue 50632. However, it was not until August 1947 that the dates and venue were agreed."Ryder Cup Match in November". The Times, Wednesday, August 13, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50838."The Ryder Cup". The Times, Wednesday, August 14, 1947; pg. 6; Issue 50839.

The revival of the Ryder Cup in 1947 was initiated by Portland businessman Robert A. Hudson, who paid for the expenses of the teams and chaired the event. He even met the British team in New York City, threw a lavish party at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, and accompanied them on the four-day rail journey across the U.S. to Portland.

The course had hosted the stroke play Portland Open on the PGA Tour in 1944 and 1945, won by Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, and the match play PGA Championship in August 1946, won by Hogan.

The American team won all four matches on the opening day and continued to dominate by winning all but one singles match. The only British victory in the competition came when Sam King beat Herman Keiser 4 & 3.

Played in the Pacific Northwest in November in wind and rain, soft course conditions prevailed as a week-long rain preceded the event. The next several matches in the U.S. were played in more southerly venues.

Format The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. From 1927 through 1959, the format consisted of 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches on the first day and 8 singles matches on the second day, for a total of 12 points. Therefore, 6 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 36 holes.

Teams Source:

This was the first of only two Ryder Cups for Hogan as a player and the second and final appearance for Byron Nelson, later the non-playing captain in 1965. Hogan was to be a non-playing captain in 1949 and 1967.

 Team USANameAgePreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentageBen Hogan – captain 35 0 RookieHerman Barron 37 0 RookieJimmy Demaret 37 0 RookieDutch Harrison 37 0 RookieHerman Keiser 33 0 RookieLloyd Mangrum 33 0 RookieByron Nelson 35 1 2 1–1–0 50.00Ed Oliver 32 0 RookieSam Snead 35 1 1 1–0–0 100.00Lew Worsham 30 0 Rookie

In January 1947 the British P.G.A. appointed a selection committee of five."Ryder Cup Selectors". The Times, Friday, January 17, 1947; pg. 8; Issue 50661. This committee included three ex-Ryder Cup players: Bill Davies, George Duncan and Charles Whitcombe. In early August they announced a list of 14 players from which the final 10 would be chosen. The winner of the News of the World Match Play would also be included in the list. In early September they announced the first seven members of the team: Cotton (captain), Daly, Rees, King, Adams, Ward and Horne. They also added two new names to the list of possible players (Arthur Lees and Laurie Ayton, Jnr), leaving nine or ten players competing for the remaining three places."Players for the Ryder Cup". The Times, Friday, September 5, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50858. Later in September two more players were selected: Green and Lees, to which would be added the winner of the Match Play Championship or Max Faulkner if the winner of that tournament should already be in the team or ineligible."The Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Saturday, September 20, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50871. The final place fell to Faulkner on September 26 when three of the semi-finalists in the Match Play Championship were already in the team and the fourth (Flory Van Donck, a Belgian) was ineligible."M. Faulkner in Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Saturday, September 27, 1947; pg. 6; Issue 50877.

The British team was accompanied by Commander R.C.T. Roe, Secretary of the British P.G.A., who acted as manager of the team. They left from Southampton for New York on the Queen Mary on October 18."Departure of Ryder Cup Team". The Times, Monday, October 20, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50896.

 Team Great BritainNameAgePreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentage Henry Cotton – captain 40 2 4 2–2–0 50.00 Jimmy Adams 37 0 Rookie Fred Daly 36 0 Rookie Max Faulkner 31 0 Rookie Eric Green 39 0 Rookie Reg Horne 39 0 Rookie Sam King 36 1 1 0–0–1 50.00 Arthur Lees 39 0 Rookie Dai Rees 34 1 2 1–0–1 75.00 Charlie Ward 36 0 Rookie

Saturday's foursome matches Results Cotton/Lees 10 & 9Oliver/WorshamDaly/Ward 6 & 5Snead/MangrumAdams/Faulkner 2 upHogan/DemaretRees/King 2 & 1Nelson/Barron 0 Session 4 0 Overall 4

18 hole scores: Oliver/Worsham: 6 up, Snead/Mangrum: 6 up, Adams/Faulkner: 2 up, Rees/King: 1 up."The Ryder Cup". The Times, Monday, November 3, 1947; pg. 2; Issue 50908.

Sunday's singles matches Results Fred Daly 5 & 4Dutch HarrisonJimmy Adams 3 & 2Lew WorshamMax Faulkner 6 & 5Lloyd MangrumCharlie Ward 4 & 3Ed OliverArthur Lees 2 & 1Byron NelsonHenry Cotton 5 & 4Sam SneadDai Rees 3 & 2Jimmy DemaretSam King 4 & 3Herman Keiser 1 Session 7 1 Overall 11

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

Source:

United States Player Points Overall Singles FoursomesHerman Barron 1 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–0–0Jimmy Demaret 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0Dutch Harrison 1 1–0–0 1–0–0 0–0–0Ben Hogan 1 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–0–0Herman Keiser 0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–0Lloyd Mangrum 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0Byron Nelson 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0Ed Oliver 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0Sam Snead 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0Lew Worsham 2 2–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–0

Great Britain Player Points Overall Singles FoursomesJimmy Adams 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Henry Cotton 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Fred Daly 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Max Faulkner 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Sam King 1 1–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0Arthur Lees 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Dai Rees 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Charlie Ward 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0

Eric Green and Reg Horne did not play in any matches.

References

External links PGA of America: 1947 Ryder Cup GolfCompendium.com: 1947 Ryder Cup