1929 Ryder Cup: Great Britain wins at Moortown Golf Club
Great Britain won the 1929 Ryder Cup 7–5 over the USA at Moortown Golf Club in Leeds, Yorkshire, England.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1929 in the Ryder Cup room, or every year on the Ryder Cup results list.
- Dates
- 26 April 1929 to 27 April 1929
- Course
- Moortown Golf Club, Leeds, Yorkshire, England
- Edition
- 2nd Ryder Cup
- Teams
- USA v Great Britain
- Result
- USA 5, Great Britain 7 · Great Britain won by 2 points
- Points to win
- 6½ (holder retains with 6)
- USA captain
- Walter Hagen
- Great Britain captain
- George Duncan
- Holder after
- GB
- Winning point
- Henry Cotton (GB) · Singles: Cotton d. Al Watrous 4 & 3
- Attendance
- about 2,000 (total as given (single Wikipedia sentence))
- Comeback
- yes — GB comeback: trailed 1.5-2.5 after foursomes, won singles 5.5-2.5
Session 1: foursomes, 26 April 1929 (36 holes (all day))
Session: USA 2½, Great Britain 1½ · running score USA 2½, Great Britain 1½.
| Match | USA | Great Britain | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnny Farrell and Joe Turnesa | Charles Whitcombe and Archie Compston | halved | halved |
| 2 | Leo Diegel and Al Espinosa | Aubrey Boomer and George Duncan | 7 & 5 | USA |
| 3 | Gene Sarazen and Ed Dudley | Abe Mitchell and Fred Robson | 2 & 1 | Great Britain |
| 4 | Walter Hagen and Johnny Golden | Ernest Whitcombe and Henry Cotton | 2 up | USA |
Session 2: singles, 27 April 1929 (36 holes (all day))
Session: USA 2½, Great Britain 5½ · running score USA 5, Great Britain 7.
| Match | USA | Great Britain | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnny Farrell | Charles Whitcombe | 8 & 6 | Great Britain |
| 2 | Walter Hagen | George Duncan | 10 & 8 | Great Britain |
| 3 | Leo Diegel | Abe Mitchell | 9 & 8 | USA |
| 4 | Gene Sarazen | Archie Compston | 6 & 4 | Great Britain |
| 5 | Joe Turnesa | Aubrey Boomer | 4 & 3 | Great Britain |
| 6 | Horton Smith | Fred Robson | 4 & 2 | USA |
| 7 | Al Watrous | Henry Cotton | 4 & 3 | Great Britain |
| 8 | Al Espinosa | Ernest Whitcombe | halved | halved |
USA team, 1929
| Player | Nationality | Rookie | W-L-H | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo Diegel | United States | 2-0-0 | 2 | |
| Ed Dudley | United States | yes | 0-1-0 | 0 |
| Al Espinosa | United States | 1-0-1 | 1½ | |
| Johnny Farrell | United States | 0-1-1 | ½ | |
| Johnny Golden | United States | 1-0-0 | 1 | |
| Walter Hagen | United States | 1-1-0 | 1 | |
| Gene Sarazen | United States | 0-2-0 | 0 | |
| Horton Smith | United States | yes | 1-0-0 | 1 |
| Joe Turnesa | United States | 0-1-1 | ½ | |
| Al Watrous | United States | 0-1-0 | 0 |
Great Britain team, 1929
| Player | Nationality | Rookie | W-L-H | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percy Alliss | England | yes | did not play | |
| Aubrey Boomer | Jersey | 1-1-0 | 1 | |
| Stewart Burns | Scotland | yes | did not play | |
| Archie Compston | England | 1-0-1 | 1½ | |
| Henry Cotton | England | yes | 1-1-0 | 1 |
| George Duncan | Scotland | 1-1-0 | 1 | |
| Abe Mitchell | England | yes | 1-1-0 | 1 |
| Fred Robson | England | 1-1-0 | 1 | |
| Charles Whitcombe | England | 1-0-1 | 1½ | |
| Ernest Whitcombe | England | yes | 0-1-1 | ½ |
What happened at the 1929 Ryder Cup
George Duncan beat opposing captain Walter Hagen 10 & 8 in the singles, the largest margin in Ryder Cup history.
Henry Cotton, all square with Al Watrous at lunch, won 4 & 3 to give GB the winning point; play was in cold weather with hail and at one point snow on the greens.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's Ryder Cup data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: ryder-cup.csv (the Ryder Cup room's record), with every match and team sheet from GNN's Ryder Cup data.