The 21st Ryder Cup Matches were held September 19–21 at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

[1][2] After the competition, questions started to be asked about the future of the event, as Britain and Ireland had once again failed to seriously challenge the United States team.

Laurel Valley was co-founded by U.S. captain Arnold Palmer and had hosted the PGA Championship a decade earlier, in 1965.

[5] The committee chose two US-based players, Tony Jacklin and Peter Oosterhuis, together with Christy O'Connor Jnr and Tommy Horton.

[6][7] Neil Coles withdrew from consideration because of his fear of flying and because it was impractical to travel by sea.