1977 Ryder Cup

Score: USA 12.5, Great Britain & Ireland 7.5
Site: Royal Lytham & St. Annes in St. Annes, England
Captains: USA - Dow Finsterwald; Great Britain & Ireland - Brian Huggett

The 1977 Ryder Cup was the last in which Team USA's opponent was Team Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I). Beginning in 1979, in a move to increase the competitiveness of the matches, Team GB&I was expanded to include golfers from across Europe.

At GB&I's suggestion, the 1977 Ryder Cup awarded only 20 points: five foursomes matches on Day 1, five four-balls on Day 2, and 10 singles matches on Day 3 (which meant that even during the singles session, two of the teams' 12 players had to sit out). With fewer matches, Ryder Cup officials reasoned, there was a greater chance for GB&I to make the match competitive or even pull off a win. (Remember that at this point in Ryder Cup history, GB&I hadn't won since 1957, and had only one win since 1933.)

It didn't work. Team USA dominated both team formats, leading by a 7.5 to 2.5 score going into singles. Team GB&I acquitted itself well in singles, splitting 5-5.

Nick Faldo made his Ryder Cup debut for GB&I, and won all three of his matches. He partnered Peter Oosterhuis in two of those victories, and Oosterhuis was also 3-0-0.

For the United States, Tom Watson played in his first Ryder Cup. His 2-1-0 record included a singles loss to Faldo. Lanny Wadkins led the Americans at 3-0-0.

One trivia note about the 1977 Ryder Cup: For the first time, a left-handed golfer competed. It was Englishman Peter Dawson.

• USA - Raymond Floyd, Lou Graham, Hubert Green, Dave Hill, Hale Irwin, Don January, Jerry McGee, Jack Nicklaus, Ed Sneed, Dave Stockton, Lanny Wadkins, Tom Watson
• Great Britain & Ireland - Brian Barnes, Ken Brown, Howard Clark, Neil Coles, Eamonn Darcy, Peter Dawson, Nick Faldo, Bernard Gallacher, Tommy Horton, Tony Jacklin, Mark James, Peter Oosterhuis

• Lanny Wadkins/Hale Irwin, U.S., def. Bernard Gallacher/Brian Barnes, GBI, 3 and 1
• Dave Stockton/Jerry McGee, U.S., def. Neil Coles/Peter Dawson, GBI, 1 up
• Nick Faldo/Peter Oosterhuis, GBI, def. Ray Floyd/Lou Graham, U.S., 2 and 1
• Ed Sneed/Don January, U.S., halved with Eamonn Darcy/Tony Jacklin, GBU
• Jack Nicklaus/Tom Watson, U.S., def. Tommy Horton/Mark James, GBI, 5 and 4

• Tom Watson/Hubert Green, U.S., def. Brian Barnes/Tommy Horton, GBI, 5 and 4
• Ed Sneed/Lanny Wadkins, U.S., def. Neil Coles/Peter Dawson, GBI, 5 and 3
• Nick Faldo/Peter Oosterhuis, GBI, def. Jack Nicklaus/Ray Floyd, U.S., 3 and 1
• Dave Hill/Dave Stockton, U.S., def. Tony Jacklin/Eamonn Darcy, GBI, 5 and 3
• Hale Irwin/Lou Graham, U.S., def. Mark James/Ken Brown (GBI), 1 up

• Lanny Wadkins, U.S., def. Howard Clark, GBI, 4 and 3
• Lou Graham, U.S., def. Neil Coles, GBI, 5 and 3
• Peter Dawson, GBI, def. Don January, U.S., 5 and 4
• Brian Barnes, GBI, def. Hale Irwin, U.S., 1 up
• Dave Hill, U.S., def. Tommy Horton, GBI, 5 and 4
• Bernard Gallacher, GBI, def. Jack Nicklaus, U.S., 1-up
• Hubert Green, U.S., def. Eamonn Darcy, GBI, 1-up
• Raymond Floyd, U.S., def. Mark James, GBI, 2 and 1
• Nick Faldo, GBI, def. Tom Watson, U.S., 1-up
• Peter Oosterhuis, GBI, def. Jerry McGee, U.S., 2-up

Player Records (wins-losses-halves)

USA
Raymond Floyd, 1-2-0
Lou Graham, 2-1-0
Hubert Green, 2-0-0
Dave Hill, 2-0-0
Hale Irwin, 2-1-0
Don January, 0-1-1
Jerry McGee, 1-1-0
Jack Nicklaus, 1-2-0
Ed Sneed, 1-0-1
Dave Stockton, 2-0-0
Lanny Wadkins, 3-0-0
Tom Watson, 2-1-0

Great Britain & Ireland
Brian Barnes, 1-2-0
Ken Brown, 0-1-0
Howard Clark, 0-1-0
Neil Coles, 0-3-0
Eamonn Darcy, 0-2-1
Peter Dawson, 1-2-0
Nick Faldo, 3-0-0
Bernard Gallacher, 1-1-0
Tommy Horton, 0-3-0
Tony Jacklin, 0-1-1
Mark James, 0-3-0
Peter Oosterhuis, 3-0-0

1975 Ryder Cup | 1979 Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup Results