1971 Ryder Cup: USA wins at Old Warson Country Club
USA won the 1971 Ryder Cup 18½–13½ over Great Britain at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 1971 in the Ryder Cup room, or every year on the Ryder Cup results list.
- Dates
- September 16, 1971 to September 18, 1971
- Course
- Old Warson Country Club, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
- Edition
- 19th Ryder Cup
- Teams
- USA v Great Britain
- Result
- USA 18½, Great Britain 13½ · USA won by 5 points
- Points to win
- 16½ (holder retains with 16)
- USA captain
- Jay Hebert
- Great Britain captain
- Eric Brown
- Holder after
- USA
- Winning point
- J. C. Snead (moderate confidence) · J. C. Snead d. Tony Jacklin 1 up, Day 3 PM
Session 1: foursomes, September 16, 1971 (AM)
Session: USA 1, Great Britain 3 · running score USA 1, Great Britain 3.
| Match | USA | Great Britain | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Casper and Miller Barber | Neil Coles and Christy O'Connor Snr | 2 & 1 | Great Britain |
| 2 | Arnold Palmer and Gardner Dickinson | Peter Townsend and Peter Oosterhuis | 2 up | USA |
| 3 | Jack Nicklaus and Dave Stockton | Brian Huggett and Tony Jacklin | 3 & 2 | Great Britain |
| 4 | Charles Coody and Frank Beard | Maurice Bembridge and Peter Butler | 1 up | Great Britain |
Session 2: foursomes, September 16, 1971 (PM)
Session: USA 2½, Great Britain 1½ · running score USA 3½, Great Britain 4½.
| Match | USA | Great Britain | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Casper and Miller Barber | Harry Bannerman and Bernard Gallacher | 2 & 1 | Great Britain |
| 2 | Arnold Palmer and Gardner Dickinson | Peter Townsend and Peter Oosterhuis | 1 up | USA |
| 3 | Lee Trevino and Mason Rudolph | Brian Huggett and Tony Jacklin | halved | halved |
| 4 | Jack Nicklaus and J. C. Snead | Maurice Bembridge and Peter Butler | 5 & 3 | USA |
Session 3: four-ball, September 17, 1971 (AM)
Session: USA 4, Great Britain 0 · running score USA 7½, Great Britain 4½.
| Match | USA | Great Britain | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Trevino and Mason Rudolph | Christy O'Connor Snr and Brian Barnes | 2 & 1 | USA |
| 2 | Frank Beard and J. C. Snead | Neil Coles and John Garner | 2 & 1 | USA |
| 3 | Arnold Palmer and Gardner Dickinson | Peter Oosterhuis and Bernard Gallacher | 5 & 4 | USA |
| 4 | Jack Nicklaus and Gene Littler | Peter Townsend and Harry Bannerman | 2 & 1 | USA |
Session 4: four-ball, September 17, 1971 (PM)
Session: USA 2½, Great Britain 1½ · running score USA 10, Great Britain 6.
| Match | USA | Great Britain | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Trevino and Billy Casper | Bernard Gallacher and Peter Oosterhuis | 1 up | Great Britain |
| 2 | Gene Littler and J. C. Snead | Tony Jacklin and Brian Huggett | 2 & 1 | USA |
| 3 | Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus | Peter Townsend and Harry Bannerman | 1 up | USA |
| 4 | Charles Coody and Frank Beard | Neil Coles and Christy O'Connor Snr | halved | halved |
Session 5: singles, September 18, 1971 (AM)
Session: USA 4½, Great Britain 3½ · running score USA 14½, Great Britain 9½.
| Match | USA | Great Britain | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Trevino | Tony Jacklin | 1 up | USA |
| 2 | Dave Stockton | Bernard Gallacher | halved | halved |
| 3 | Mason Rudolph | Brian Barnes | 1 up | Great Britain |
| 4 | Gene Littler | Peter Oosterhuis | 4 & 3 | Great Britain |
| 5 | Jack Nicklaus | Peter Townsend | 3 & 2 | USA |
| 6 | Gardner Dickinson | Christy O'Connor Snr | 5 & 4 | USA |
| 7 | Arnold Palmer | Harry Bannerman | halved | halved |
| 8 | Frank Beard | Neil Coles | halved | halved |
Session 6: singles, September 18, 1971 (PM)
Session: USA 4, Great Britain 4 · running score USA 18½, Great Britain 13½.
| Match | USA | Great Britain | Result | Point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Trevino | Brian Huggett | 7 & 6 | USA |
| 2 | J. C. Snead | Tony Jacklin | 1 up | USA |
| 3 | Miller Barber | Brian Barnes | 2 up | Great Britain |
| 4 | Dave Stockton | Peter Townsend | 1 up | USA |
| 5 | Charles Coody | Bernard Gallacher | 2 & 1 | Great Britain |
| 6 | Jack Nicklaus | Neil Coles | 5 & 3 | USA |
| 7 | Arnold Palmer | Peter Oosterhuis | 3 & 2 | Great Britain |
| 8 | Gardner Dickinson | Harry Bannerman | 2 & 1 | Great Britain |
USA team, 1971
| Player | Nationality | Rookie | W-L-H | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miller Barber | United States | 0-3-0 | 0 | |
| Frank Beard | United States | 1-1-2 | 2 | |
| Billy Casper | United States | 0-3-0 | 0 | |
| Charles Coody | United States | yes | 0-2-1 | ½ |
| Gardner Dickinson | United States | 4-1-0 | 4 | |
| Gene Littler | United States | 2-1-0 | 2 | |
| Jack Nicklaus | United States | 5-1-0 | 5 | |
| Arnold Palmer | United States | 4-1-1 | 4½ | |
| Mason Rudolph | United States | yes | 1-1-1 | 1½ |
| J. C. Snead | United States | yes | 4-0-0 | 4 |
| Dave Stockton | United States | yes | 1-1-1 | 1½ |
| Lee Trevino | United States | 3-1-1 | 3½ |
Great Britain team, 1971
| Player | Nationality | Rookie | W-L-H | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Bannerman | Scotland | yes | 2-2-1 | 2½ |
| Brian Barnes | Scotland | 2-1-0 | 2 | |
| Maurice Bembridge | England | 1-1-0 | 1 | |
| Peter Butler | England | 1-1-0 | 1 | |
| Neil Coles | England | 1-2-2 | 2 | |
| Bernard Gallacher | Scotland | 3-1-1 | 3½ | |
| John Garner | England | yes | 0-1-0 | 0 |
| Brian Huggett | Wales | 1-2-1 | 1½ | |
| Tony Jacklin | England | 1-3-1 | 1½ | |
| Peter Oosterhuis | England | yes | 3-3-0 | 3 |
| Christy O'Connor Snr | Ireland | 1-2-1 | 1½ | |
| Peter Townsend | England | 0-6-0 | 0 |
What happened at the 1971 Ryder Cup
Peter Oosterhuis beat Arnold Palmer 3 & 2 in the afternoon singles, ending Palmer's 12-match unbeaten run.
Lee Trevino beat Brian Huggett 7 & 6, then tying the record margin for an 18-hole singles match.
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.