Saturday 6th September 2025
DAY 1 REPORT
The opening day of the 50th Walker Cup got off to a cloudy start before the sun broke through and a near perfect day for golf emerged.
The USA team knew that they needed 13 points to retain the Walker Cup but set out on Saturday morning expecting to easily accumulate the 13.5 points that either side requires to secure an outright victory.
It took the morning Foursomes, which GB&I won 3.0-1.0, for them to realise that this was unlikely to be the walkover that some commentators had predicted before a ball had been struck.
Nevertheless a strong bounce back in the afternoon Singles, which USA won 5.5-2.5, will see the favourites take a 1.0 point lead in to the final day at Cypress Point Club.
SATURDAY FOURSOMES
As is becoming the norm Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) got off to a fast start in the opening Foursomes securing a 3.0-1.0 advantage over their hosts.
USA has won eight of the last ten Walker Cup matches but only won one opening Foursomes series in that 20 year timeframe.
Captain Nathan Smith benched Mason Howell and Jacob Modleski whilst GB&I rested Niall Shiels Donegan and Gavin Tiernan.
Having been unbeaten – P8 W6 L0 H2 – in Foursomes at the recent St. Andrews Trophy match against Continent of Europe in Madrid it was no surprise to see captain Dean Robertson go with the same pairings for Saturday’s opening session. His loyalty was amply rewarded.
“It’s been a good morning”, Robertson said. “We’re under absolutely no illusions as to the task at hand. The goal is 13.5 points, we have three, so we’ve got 10.5 to go now.”
1. Jackson Koivun & Tommy Morrison v. Connor Graham & Tyler Weaver
Conor Graham and Tyler Weaver were superb in the opening game producing eight genuine foursomes birdies in the 17 holes they required to take down World No. 1 Jackson Kuivon and Tommy Morrison. Three birdie hole wins in a row on the 13th, 14th and 15th turned the game their way.
2. Stewart Hagestad & Ben James v. Charlie Forster & Luke Poulter
Charlie Forster and Luke Poulter also made a fast start seizing the advantage early in their match against Stewart Hagestad and Ben James, who had both represented USA in 2023 at St. Andrews. James had a poor morning with the putter which stopped USA gaining any momentum and the English pair saw out the game with relative ease.
3. Ethan Fang & Preston Stout v. Eliot Baker & Stuart Grehan
In the tightest of the four games the experienced GB&I pair of Eliot Baker and Stuart Grehan showed great composure and no shortage of skill to hold on to a narrow 1 Hole victory against the Amateur champion Ethan Fang and his Oklahoma State college teammate Preston Stout. Grehan’s clutch tee shot on the short 15th and Baker’s delicate pitch on the 18th were the late highlights that secured this valuable point for GB&I.
4. Michael La Sasso & Jase Summy v. Cameron Adam & Dominic Clemons
Michael La Sasso and Jase Summy easily saw off a battling but at times out of sorts Cameron Adam and Dominic Clemons in the final game of the session. A double bogey and five bogeys by the GB&I pair meant their American opponents were able to win way to many holes with pars.
Session Score: USA 1.0 – 3.0 GB&I
SATURDAY SINGLES
With only eight Singles being played two players from each team had to miss out on the afternoon series. 2025 NCAA Individual champion Michael La Sasso and Tommy Morrison did so for USA whilst Cameron Adam and Dominic Clemons were the unlucky pair for GB&I.
The Day 1 line ups were submitted on Friday afternoon and therefore neither captain could reflect on the Foursomes performances that preceded this session when deciding who to leave out. With the benefit of hindsight Dean Robertson came out of this arrangement better than Nathan Smith as I am sure he would not have changed his decisions whereas the American may well have done.
Despite this USA bounced back superbly in the afternoon to wrestle back control of the match.
US won five of the eight games contested, three of them comprehensively, and in doing so delivered a psychological blow which the underdogs will do well to recover from on Sunday.
Having only won twice before in the States GB&I will certainly need a repeat of today’s Foursomes performance to have any chance tomorrow when they will have to negotiate another 10 Singles. One positive omen is that the last time GB&I won in 2001 they trailed 6.5-5.5 at the end of Day 1.
Speaking afterwards GB&I captain Dean Robertson said “We just fell short on a few putts and things went the other way. If we’d holed a couple more, things might be a little bit different. I’m slightly disappointed that we are one point behind. I’m exceptionally proud of the way the team performed.”
USA captain Nathan Smith said “I can’t really say there was much of a message (after the morning Foursomes). I think the guys knew what they had to do. There were a lot of points out there this afternoon. We just knew we had to have a good session and they delivered.”
1. Jackson Koivun v. Tyler Weaver
Jackson Koivun took revenge on Tyler Weaver for his morning Foursomes loss. The World No. 1 was in scintillating form playing the front nine in 30/31 shots and whilst Weaver didn’t do much wrong he ended up being blown away by 4&3.
2. Jacob Modleski v. Niall Shiels Donegan
A final hole 1Up win for Niall Shiels Donegan – who would have guessed ? In a trade mark roller coaster performance, which included three birdies and three bogeys, the Scotsman wrong footed Jacob Modleski before gutting it out down the home stretch for a valuable point for GB&I. Shiels Donegan also beat Modleski in the U.S. Amateur Quarter Finals on the 19th hole just three weeks ago.
3. Mason Howell v. Luke Poulter
U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell made a mockery of his non-selection for the earlier Foursomes, in a seven birdie win over Luke Poulter. The loss was a little hard on Poulter who, despite an opening bogey 5, would have been very competitive with his scorecard against most of the other Americans in the afternoon series.
4. Ben James v. Connor Graham
Three birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th helped Conor Graham to a 3&2 victory against Ben James. It was Graham’s second win of the day and despite bogeys on 8 and 9, which gave James some encouragement, he is increasingly looking like a star in the making. Small in stature but big in heart.
5. Stewart Hagestad v. Gavin Tiernan
Five-time Walker Cupper Stewart Hagestad, 34, was at his imperious best in the afternoon reeling off six birdies in a 7&5 thrashing of Ireland’s Gavin Tiernan. Whilst debutant Tiernan didn’t give too many holes away we know that stringing pars together is simply not going to be good enough for victories around this short course. This was mid-amateur Hagestad’s sixth singles win in seven games.
6. Ethan Fang v. Stuart Grehan
The Amateur champion Ethan Fang and re-instated Irish amateur Stuart Grehan played out an entertaining and very competitive half in Game 6 where neither player could break away from the other. Par golf was seemingly the order of the day with few mistakes being made. Grehan had an opportunity to win it on the 18th hole but couldn’t get his tricky downhill six foot putt to drop.
7. Preston Stout v. Charlie Forster
Preston Stout produced six match play birdies on his way to a comfortable 6&5 win against Charlie Forster. Stout’s excellent play and overall consistency was too much for Forster who bogeyed four of the 13 holes they played.
8. Jase Summy v. Eliot Baker
Jase Summy maintained his 100% win record, the only player on the USA side who can claim this, in a crucial win for USA. 1Down with three holes to play he benefitted from two late bogeys from Devonian Eliot Baker, on 16 and 18, to turn his match around. Stout holed an uphill four footer for his crucial par on the 18th after Baker had lipped out from 15 feet for his. It goes without saying that GB&I would have felt so much better going into Sunday if Baker could have held on for a win or even tied this match.
Session Score: USA 5.5 – 2.5 GB&I
Day 1 Score: USA 6.5 – 5.5 GB&I
Click here to view the – Walker Cup Scoreboard
Here is my summary of the Day 1 Individual Performances: –
All of the scorecards shown above are courtesy of the USGA / CISCO Scoring.
ME.
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