1938 Walker Cup Winner and Match Scores

Something happened at the 1938 Walker Cup that had never happened before: Great Britain & Ireland won. So after the 10th Walker Cup played, the all-time standings were nine wins for the USA, one win for GB&I.

Final Score: Great Britain & Ireland 7, United States 4

Dates Played: June 3-4, 1938

Location: The Old Course at St. Andrews

Team Captains: Francis Ouimet for the United States, John Beck for Great Britain & Ireland

Team Rosters:

• USA — Ray Billows, Johnny Fischer, Johnny Goodman, Fred Haas, Charles Kocsis, Reynolds Smith, Bud Ward, Charlie Yates
• GB&I — Harry Bentley, Jimmy Bruen, Leonard Crawley, R. Cecil Ewing, Alex Kyle, Frank Pennink, Gordon Peters, Charlie Stowe, Hector Thomson

Notes: From the inaugural 1922 Walker Cup through the 1936 Walker Cup was a span of nine competitions — all won by Team USA, several of them runaways (including a 9-0 shutout in 1936). Team GB&I finally got off the schneid here, winning the cup for the first time.

After GB&I took a 2-1 lead following the foursomes on Day 1, the USA needed five singles victories on Day 2 to hold the cup. They got four of those wins, but GB&I won the final three matches to earn that first win. One of the Americans' wins was Bud Ward's 12-and-11 victory over Frank Pennick, tied for second-largest win in Walker Cup history (matches were 36 holes at this time).

Here's a historical tidbit: The captain for GB&I was John Beck. At the 1954 Curtis Cup, Beck's wife, Dorothy, was the GB&I captain. They are the only husband and wife to serve as captains in both the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup.

This was the last Walker Cup played until 1947 due to World War II.

1938 Walker Cup Results

(Note: At this time in Walker Cup history, halved matches awarded zero points.)

Day 1 Foursomes

• Johnny Fischer/Chuck Kocsis, USA, halved with Harry Bentley/Jimmy Bruen, GB&I
• Gordon Peters/Hector Thomson, GB&I, def. Johnny Goodman/Bud Ward, 4 and 2
• Charlie Yates/Ray Billows, USA, def. Alex Kyle/Charlie Stowe, GB&I, 3 and 2
• Frank Pennink/Leonard Crawley, GB&I, def. Reynolds Smith/Fred Haas, USA, 3 and 1

Score after first session: GB&I 2, USA 1

Day 2 Singles

• Charlie Yates, USA, def. Jimmy Bruen, GB&I, 2 and 1
• Hector Thomson, GB&I, def. Johnny Goodman, USA, 6 and 4
• Johnny Fischer, USA, def. Leonard Crawley, GB&I, 3 and 2
• Charlie Stowe, GB&I, def. Chuck Kocsis, USA, 2 and 1
• Bud Ward, USA, def. Frank Pennink, GB&I, 12 and 11
• Cecil Ewing, GB&I, def. Ray Billows, USA, 1-up
• Gordon Peters, GB&I, def. Reynolds Smith, USA, 9 and 8
• Alex Kyle, GB&I, def. Fred Haas, USA, 5 and 4

Score of second session: GB&I 5, USA 3
Overall and final score: GB&I 7, USA 4

Previous and next:
1936 Walker Cup | 1947 Walker Cup