1979 – HCEG, Muirfield

GB&I 8.5 – 15.5 USA

May 30-31, 1979
Muirfield, Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland
6,926 yards / Par 71

Captains: Rodney Foster (GB&I) and Dick Siderowf (USA)

Day 1 Foursomes (GB&I players first)
Peter McEvoy / Brian Marchbank lost to Scott Hoch / Jay Sigel 1 hole
Geoffrey Godwin / Ian Hutcheon beat Martin West III / Hal Sutton 2 holes
Gordon Brand Jr / Michael Kelley lost to Douglas Fischesser / Jim Holtgrieve 1 hole
Allan Brodie / Ian Carslaw beat Griff Moody III / Michael Gove 2&1
GB&I 2 – USA 2

Day 1 Singles
Peter McEvoy halved with Jay Sigel
John Davies lost to Douglas Clarke 8&7
Ian Hutcheon lost to Jim Holtgrieve 6&4
Jimmy Buckley lost to Scott Hoch 9&7
Brian Marchbank beat Michael Peck 1 hole
Geoffrey Godwin beat Griff Moody III 3&2
Michael Kelley beat Douglas Fischesser 3&2
Allan Brodie lost to Michael Gove 3&2
GB&I 3.5 – USA 4.5

Day 1: GB&I 5.5 – USA 6.5

Day 2 Foursomes
Geoffrey Godwin / Gordon Brand Jr lost to Scott Hoch / Jay Sigel 4&3
Michael Kelley / Ian Hutcheon halved with Martin West III / Hal Sutton
Peter McEvoy / Brian Marchbank beat D. Fischesser / J. Holtgrieve 2&1
Ian Carslaw / Allan Brodie halved with Douglas Clarke / Michael Peck
GB&I 2 – USA 2

Day 2 Singles
Peter McEvoy lost to Scott Hoch 3&1
Gordon Brand Jnr lost to Douglas Clarke 2&1
Geoffrey Godwin lost to Michael Gove 3&2
Ian Hutcheon lost to Michael Peck 2&1
Allan Brodie beat Martin West III 3&2
Michael Kelley lost to Griff Moody III 3&2
Brian Marchbank lost to Hal Sutton 3&1
Ian Carslaw lost to Jay Sigel 2&1
GB&I 1 – USA 7

Match Result: GB&I 8.5 – USA 15.5

Series Results: USA 24 – GB&I 2 – Halved 1 (after Match 27)

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Match Notes

The 1979 match at Muirfield was scheduled directly against the NCAA Division I Nationals which led to the USA team being weakened. Clever tactics from The R&A !  John Cook, Gary Hallberg and Bobby Clampett were notable absentees for the United States.

Nevertheless USA still sent a team containing Scott Hoch, who would win all four of his games, and Hal Sutton. Jay Sigel beat Scott Hoch in the Final of the Amateur championship at Hillside the week after the match.

John Davies, selected for the fourth time, and Jimmy Buckley, the first Welsh player to be picked since 1955, arrived in Scotland out of form and injured respectively. After heavy losses in the Day 1 Singles for GB&I they were not seen again.

In the Day 2 foursomes series Holtgrieve and Fischesser were 1Up on Marchbank and McEvoy after 13 holes. On the 14th Holtgrieve hooked his tee shot whilst McEvoy pushed his, both leaving their partners in the deep rough. Whilst the Americans were considering their options Marchbank failed to get out of the rough before McEvoy chipped back onto the fairway. The GB&I pair finally reached the green in four. The Americans did the same but were only 3 feet from the hole. McEvoy holed from distance for a five and then watched in astonishment as Holtgrieve picked up his ball, effectively giving the hole away. He had lost track of the shots played and assumed his opponents had a four. The Amercians then lost the next two holes and the match by 2&1.

The match was lost on the final afternoon with GB&I losing the Day 2 Singles 7-1. The home team had held the lead in each game at one point or another but it was the Americans who one again dealt with the pressure better and ultimately gained the upper hand. Scotland’s Allan Brodie, who pared the 14th, 15th and 16th holes all for hole wins, was the only GB&I winner in a disappointing final collapse.

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