USA 14 – 10 GB&I
August 24-25, 1973
The Country Club, Brookline, Massachusetts
6,875 yards / Par 72
Captains: Jess Sweetser (USA) and David Marsh (GB&I)
Day 1 Foursomes (USA players first)
Marvin Giles III / Gary Koch halved with Michael King / Peter Hedges
Dick Siderowf / Mark Pfeil beat Hugh Stuart / John Davies 5&4
Danny Edwards / James Ellis beat Charles Green / Willie Milne 2&1
Martin West III / Doug Ballenger beat Rodney Foster / Trevor Homer 2&1
USA 3.5 – GB&I 0.5
Day 1 Singles
Marvin Giles III beat Hugh Stuart 5&4
Dick Siderowf beat Michael Bonallack 4&2
Gary Koch lost to John Davies 1 hole
Martin West III lost to Howard Clark 2&1
Danny Edwards beat Rodney Foster 2 holes
Michael Killian lost to Michael King 1 hole
Bill Rogers lost to Charles Green 1 hole
Mark Pfeil lost to Willie Milne 4&3
USA 3 – GB&I 5
Day 1: USA 6.5 – GB&I 5.5
Day 2 Foursomes
Marvin Giles III / Gary Koch beat Trevor Homer / Rodney Foster 7&5
Dick Siderowf / Mark Pfeil halved with Howard Clark / John Davies
Danny Edwards / James Ellis beat Peter Hedges / Michael King 2&1
Bill Rogers / Michael Killian beat Hugh Stuart / Willie Milne 1 hole
USA 3.5 – GB&I 0.5
Day 2 Singles
Marvin Giles III halved with Charles Green
Dick Siderowf lost to John Davies 3&2
Danny Edwards beat Trevor Homer 2&1
James Ellis lost to Hugh Stuart 5&4
Martin West III beat Michael King 2 holes
Mark Pfeil beat Howard Clark 1 hole
Michael Killian lost to Willie Milne 2&1
Gary Koch halved with Peter Hedges
USA 4 – GB&I 4
Match Result: USA 14 – GB&I 10
Series Results: USA 21 – GB&I 2 – Halved 1 (after Match 24)
Brookline 1973 Walker Cup Scorecard (Photo: Oldsportsauctions.com)
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Match Notes
The Country Club in Brookline became the first U.S. venue to stage the Walker Cup for a second time, having first been used in 1932.
Michael Bonallack made his ninth and final appearance for GB&I although a bad back put paid to a final flourish on the course. He had participated in every Walker Cup since 1957.
Leonard Crawley writing in the match programme expressed his disappointment that Bonallack was “deposed by tradition from leading the first British side to return to the United States with the Cup to defend. The British system of electing a new captain for each match is disturbing to someone like myself who knows the game and the players. Bonallack proved himself an inspiring leader through the days of high tension before the 1971 Match and in arranging the best possible combinations for the foursomes.” Having made his point he did go on to acknowledge that “we are singularly fortunate in the appointment of Dr. David Marsh, one of the most highly respected men.”
GB&I team selection again raised questions with the absences of Harry Ashby (ENG), Ian Hutcheon (SCO),Peter Moody (ENG) and Roger Revell (ENG) particularly notable.
Moody, who gave up the game shortly after his non-selection, said at the time “The amateur game is not run in a healthy manner. How good you are is a secondary matter. If you are rich, play the right courses, say the right things to the right people, then one usually gets on so long as one can succeed in one or two events.”
In his autobiography Sandy Sinclair, Chairman of the Selection Committee, said “we decided that two of the main contenders for a place who had done well over the previous season would not be included in the team because they had won over links courses and The Country Club is not a seaside course. It has tall trees and long 500 yard plus holes. Now some golfers are good on the links courses but we reckoned that the two in question couldn’t have reached the greens in two at The Country Club….you have to think about the course as well. If the Walker Cup had been held in this country the team would not have been the same – Moody would have played at No. 1.”
The other GB&I selectors were Albert Evans (WAL), Cecil Ewing (IRL), Frank Pennink (ENG) and Walter McLeod (SCO).
35 year old New York stockbroker Dick Siderowf travelled to Royal Porthcawl for the Amateur to try and force his way into the USA Walker Cup team. It proved an inspired decision when he proceeded to win the Championship beating Peter Moody 5&3 in the final. He was duly selected by the USGA.
GB&I failed to win any of the eight foursomes games, losing six and halving two. Unusually the visitors did have the better of the 16 singles though, winning eight and halving two of these.
The Day 2 final foursomes involving Hugh Stuart and Willie Milne ended any hopes of a GB&I victory. On a bad morning for the rest of the team the two Scots had recovered well from 3-Down after 10 holes to lead 1Up after 15. On the 17th green victory seemed to be in sight. The USA pair were 10 feet away after three shots with the Brits on the edge of the green, 15 feet away, in two. Unfortunately Stuart ran his downhill putt 5 feet past and Milne missed the return. The USA holed and then birdied the last for an unlikely victory. An expected two point lead became three in the blink of an eye.
Danny Edwards (22) was the star man for USA winning all four of his games.
GB&I’s leading scorer was John Davies who won 2.5 points out of four fully justifying his selection which had been questioned by some a few weeks earlier.
Craig Stadler, first reserve for the USA team, went on to win the U.S. Amateur Championship at Inverness G.C. the following week.
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