The 18th Ryder Cup Matches were held 18–20 September 1969 at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. The competition ended in a tie at 16 points each when America's Jack Nicklaus conceded a three-foot putt to Britain's Tony Jacklin at the 18th hole, in one of the most famous gestures of sportsmanship in all of sports. It was the first tie in Ryder Cup history, and the United States team retained the Cup.

Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the United Kingdom in North West England, located in Southport, Merseyside. It is one of the clubs in the rotation for both the Open Championship and Women's British Open and has hosted the Open Championship ten times from 1954 through 2017. Winners of the Open at the course include Pádraig Harrington, Mark O'Meara, Ian Baker-Finch, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer, Peter Thomson (twice) and Jordan Spieth. The course is scheduled to hold Open Championship again in 2026.