The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format was adjusted slightly in 1973 from the format used from 1963 through 1971:
Day 1 — 4 foursomes (alternate shot) matches in a morning session and 4 four-ball (better ball) matches in an afternoon session
Day 2 — 4 foursome matches in a morning session and 4 four-ball matches in an afternoon session
Day 3 — 16 singles matches, 8 each in morning and afternoon sessions
With a total of 32 points, 161⁄2 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.
Selection for the Great Britain and Ireland team was based on a points list with points being earned between the 1972 Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf and the same event in 1973. Total points determined the order, with 30 points to the winner, 24 for the runner-up, down to 1 point for the player in 25th place.[3] The leading 8 in the points list were guaranteed places, with the remaining 4 selected by a committee. The top 8 were: Oosterhuis, Coles, Jacklin, Bembridge, Barnes, Butler, O'Connor and Gallacher.[4] The selection committee chose the players lying 9th to 12th in the list: Garner, Polland, Clark and Huggett.[5]
Due to the rules of the PGA of America in place at the time, players with less than five years as a professional were not eligible for the U.S. team, which included reigning U.S. Open champion Johnny Miller and Lanny Wadkins.[6] (These rules also kept Jack Nicklaus on the sidelines until 1969.) Miller made his Ryder Cup debut in 1975 and Wadkins in 1977.
