1955 Ryder Cup Winner, Match Scores, Player Records

The 1955 Ryder Cup was the 11th time this tournament between teams representing Great Britain and the United States was played. Following the Team USA victory, the overall standings to this point were nine wins for the USA, two wins for Great Britain.

Final Score: United States 8, Great Britain 4

Dates Played: November 5-6, 1955

Golf Course: Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California

Team Captains: Dai Rees for Great Britain, Chick Harbert for the United States

Team Rosters:

• Great Britain — Ken Bousfield, Harry Bradshaw, Eric Brown, John Fallon, John Jacobs, Arthur Lees, Christy O'Connor Sr., Syd Scott, Harry Weetman, Dai Rees (playing captain)
• USA — Jerry Barber, Tommy Bolt, Jack Burke Jr., Doug Ford, Marty Furgol, Chandler Harper, Ted Kroll, Cary Middlecoff, Sam Snead, Chick Harbert (playing captain)

Match Notes: This was Team USA's seventh consecutive victory, which began with the 1935 Ryder Cup. That's a record that still stands, although the American side also won seven in a row from 1971 through 1983. Team USA got off to a 3-1 start in Day 1 foursomes and wasn't really challenged in Day 2 singles.

Christy O'Connor made his first appearance on Team Great Britain. He played in every Ryder Cup from 1955 through 1973. That total of 10 playing appearances was the tournament record when it ended, but has since been surpassed.

Team GB, for the first time, used the British circuit's Order of Merit to select the team. The top seven players were automatic qualifiers, then those seven chose the remaining three.

This was the first of five times Dai Rees was Great Britain captain, and he was playing captain in four of those.

1955 Ryder Cup Results

Day 1

Foursomes

• John Fallon/John Jacobs, Great Britain, def. Chandler Harper/Jerry Barber, USA, 1-up
• Doug Ford/Ted Kroll, USA, def. Eric Brown/Syd Scott, Great Britain, 5 and 4
• Jack Burke Jr./Tommy Bolt, USA, def. Arthur Lees/Harry Weetman, Great Britain, 1-up
• Sam Snead/Cary Middlecoff, USA, def. Harry Bradshaw/Dai Rees, Great Britain, 3 and 2

Score after Day 1: USA 3, Great Britain 1

Day 2

Singles

• Tommy Bolt, USA, def. Christy O'Connor Sr., Great Britain, 4 and 2
• Chick Harbert, USA, def. Syd Scott, Great Britain, 3 and 2
• John Jacobs, Great Britain, def. Cary Middlecoff, USA, 1-up
• Sam Snead, USA, def. Dai Rees, Great Britain, 3 and 1
• Arthur Lees, Great Britain, def. Marty Furgol, USA, 3 and 2
• Eric Brown, Great Britain, def. Jerry Barber, USA, 3 and 2
• Jack Burke Jr., USA, def. Harry Bradshaw, Great Britain, 3 and 2
• Doug Ford, USA, def. Harry Weetman, Great Britain, 3 and 2

Score of singles session: USA 5, Great Britain 3
Overall and final score: USA 8, Great Britain 4

1955 Ryder Cup Player Records

(Records are listed as wins-losses-halves.)

Great Britain
Ken Bousfield, did not play
Harry Bradshaw, 0-2-0
Eric Brown, 1-1-0
John Fallon, 1-0-0
John Jacobs, 2-0-0
Arthur Lees, 1-1-0
Christy O'Connor Sr., 0-1-0
Dai Rees, 0-2-0
Syd Scott, 0-2-0
Harry Weetman, 0-2-0

United States
Jerry Barber, 0-2-0
Tommy Bolt, 2-0-0
Jack Burke Jr., 2-0-0
Doug Ford, 2-0-0
Marty Furgol, 0-1-0
Chandler Harper, 0-1-0
Chick Harbert, 1-0-0
Ted Kroll, 1-0-0
Cary Middlecoff, 1-1-0
Sam Snead, 2-0-0

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