The 1969 Ryder Cup is one of the most famous in the events history. Find out more about it here.
The 1969 Ryder Cup Concession
The Ryder Cup always throws up some very memorable moments. Whether it’s the Miracle at Medinah in 2012, or the War on the Shore in 1991, the Ryder Cup isn’t short on drama.
Perhaps one of the most well remembered moments came in 1969. With the scores tied at 15.5 points each, Jack Nicklaus made a five-foot putt on the last leaving his partner, Tony Jacklin, with a couple of feet to tie.
Nicklaus picked up the Englishman’s ball marker and said “I don’t think you would have missed it, but I wasn’t going to give you the chance, either.” It was the first time that the Ryder Cup ended in a tie.
It’s fitting today marks the start of Ryder Cup week—on this day in 1969, Tony Jacklin and I played in the final singles match at Royal Birkdale—our match was even and the overall team score was tied. It ended that way when I picked up Tony’s coin and conceded a short putt on 18. pic.twitter.com/p53Ds1w3oZ
— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) September 20, 2021
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Speaking later, the 18-time Major champion said “I don’t know why but I very quickly thought about Tony Jacklin and what he had meant to British golf. Here he was, the Open champion, the new hero, and all of a sudden it felt like if he missed this putt he would be criticised forever.
“This all went through my mind in a very, very quick period of time and I just made up my mind, I said, ‘I’m not going to give Tony Jacklin the opportunity to miss it. I think we walk off of here, shake hands and have a better relationship between the two golfing organisations is the right way to do it’.”
Sam Snead, the American captain, was reportedly livid, but the moment has gone down as one of the greatest moments in the event history.
Jacklin at The Concession Golf Club. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
As a result of the act of sportsmanship, the Nicklaus-Jacklin award was created for the 2021 Ryder Cup, with a selection committee consisting of: Jack Nicklaus, Tony Jacklin, past European and US Ryder Cup Captains, Aon’s Carlo Clavarino, and representatives from Sky Sports and NBC Sports. deciding on the players who have shown sportsmanship, teamwork and performance.
In addition to the sportsmanship award, Nicklaus and Jacklin also teamed up to co-design a golf course on the Southwest of Florida. The venue, which hosted the 2021 WGC-Workday Championship, is called ‘The Concession’, named after that famous moment in 1969.
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