Region's Ryder Cup link is recalled at auction

Joanne Ginley

AS SOME of the world’s top golfers prepare for tomorrow’s opening rounds in the Ryder Cup, a little bit of the contest’s history has been unearthed in Florida.

A programme signed by the US Ryder Cup team more than 80 years ago, is to go up for auction. It is thought that the rare item, which has a special Yorkshire link, could be the only surviving programme of its kind.

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As the US team prepared to cross the Atlantic to play in the 1929 Ryder Cup at Moortown Golf Club, Leeds, they attended a bon voyage dinner, held at the New York Athletic Club on April 9. The programme, up for auction, features autographed photographs of the entire US team including the captain, the legendary Walter Hagen.

The programme was found in a 50-year-old hand carved Chinese chest which was given to the vendor in 2006. The drawers had been lined with newspaper and the programme was found underneath one of the pages when the chest was being cleared out.

It is expected to sell for up to 4,000 when it is auctioned by Bonhams at its Golf Memorabilia sale at Chester on October 20

Bonhams golfing specialist Kevin Mcgimpsey said last night: “This is an extraordinary find and is likely to be the only surviving example of the Bon Voyage dinner programme.

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“The fact that it was autographed by the entire team makes it even more special.

“The programme is in very good condition and I expect it to have wide appeal."

Yorkshire hosted the first official Ryder Cup to be held on British soil when a crowd of 10,000 witnessed a thrilling victory for Great Britain at Moortown.

The 1929 Ryder Cup, played on 26 and 27 April, was only the second in the competition’s history.

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The Americans were defending the title they had won two years earlier.

The event was famous for the match between Hagen and the British captain, George Duncan. The American was unbeaten in match play that year and was confident he would beat his British opponent.

The Americans led the competition after the foursomes but Britain were inspired in the singles matches by captain Duncan, who beat the great Walter Hagen by a score of 10 and 8 over 36 holes.

It was Britain’s first victory, after the USA had won the inaugural competition in Worcester, Massachusetts, two years previously.