1977 Ryder Cup Winner and Match Scores
Final Score: United States 12.5, Great Britain & Ireland 7.5
Dates Played: September 15-17, 1977
Golf Course: Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, England
Team Captains: USA — Dow Finsterwald; Great Britain & Ireland — Brian Huggett
Team Rosters
- United States: Raymond Floyd, Lou Graham, Hubert Green, Dave Hill, Hale Irwin, Don January, Jerry McGee, Jack Nicklaus, Ed Sneed, Dave Stockton, Lanny Wadkins, Tom Watson
- GB&I: Brian Barnes, Ken Brown, Howard Clark, Neil Coles, Eamonn Darcy, Peter Dawson, Nick Faldo, Bernard Gallacher, Tommy Horton, Tony Jacklin, Mark James, Peter Oosterhuis
Two years later, though, organizers hit on a solution to the lack of competitiveness: Team GB&I was expanded so that golfers from all over Europe could form the team that opposed to the U.S. Nick Faldo made his Ryder Cup debut in 1977, and he was eventually joined by European luminaries such as Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal and others to turn the Ryder Cup tide in Europe's favor.
Faldo won all three of his matches for GB&I and so did Peter Oostheruis, who partnered Faldo twice. There were only three other wins among the rest of the GB&I squad. Faldo, at age 20, was the youngest Ryder Cup player to this point, and he held that record until the 1999 Ryder Cup.
Tom Watson (2-1-0) and Lanny Wadkins (2-1-0) were rookies on the American side. Despite the easy American win, Jack Nicklaus was only 1-2-0 for the U.S.
Day 1 Match Scores
Foursomes- Lanny Wadkins/Hale Irwin, USA, def. Bernard Gallacher/Brian Barnes, GB&I, 3 and 1
- Dave Stockton/Jerry McGee, USA, def. Neil Coles/Peter Dawson, GB&I, 1 up
- Nick Faldo/Peter Oosterhuis, GB&I, def. Ray Floyd/Lou Graham, USA, 2 and 1
- Ed Sneed/Don January, USA, halved with Eamonn Darcy/Tony Jacklin, GB&I
- Jack Nicklaus/Tom Watson, USA, def. Tommy Horton/Mark James, GB&I, 5 and 4
Day 2 Match Scores
Fourballs- Tom Watson/Hubert Green, USA, def. Brian Barnes/Tommy Horton, GB&I, 5 and 4
- Ed Sneed/Lanny Wadkins, USA, def. Neil Coles/Peter Dawson, GB&I, 5 and 3
- Nick Faldo/Peter Oosterhuis, GB&I, def. Jack Nicklaus/Ray Floyd, USA, 3 and 1
- Dave Hill/Dave Stockton, USA, def. Tony Jacklin/Eamonn Darcy, GB&I, 5 and 3
- Hale Irwin/Lou Graham, USA, def. Mark James/Ken Brown (GB&I), 1 up
Overall score after Day 2: United States 7.5, Great Britain & Ireland 2.5
Day 3 Match Scores
Singles- Lanny Wadkins, USA, def. Howard Clark, GB&I, 4 and 3
- Lou Graham, USA, def. Neil Coles, GB&I, 5 and 3
- Peter Dawson, GB&I, def. Don January, USA, 5 and 4
- Brian Barnes, GB&I, def. Hale Irwin, USA, 1 up
- Dave Hill, USA, def. Tommy Horton, GB&I, 5 and 4
- Bernard Gallacher, GB&I, def. Jack Nicklaus, USA, 1-up
- Hubert Green, USA, def. Eamonn Darcy, GB&I, 1-up
- Raymond Floyd, USA, def. Mark James, GB&I, 2 and 1
- Nick Faldo, GB&I, def. Tom Watson, USA, 1-up
- Peter Oosterhuis, GB&I, def. Jerry McGee, USA, 2-up
Overall and final score: United States 12.5, Great Britain & Ireland 7.5
1977 Ryder Cup Player Records
(Records are listed as wins-losses-halves.)
United States
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
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