Lahinch GC – Walker Cup

200. 2026 Walker Cup – Day 2 Report

6th September 2026

DAY 2 REPORT

Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) took a 6.5 – 5.5 lead against the United States of America (USA) in to Day 2 of the 51st Walker Cup match at Lahinch G.C.

After USA completed a clean sweep of the Sunday Foursomes and therefore led 6.5 – 9.5 going into the final Singles series it appeared for all the world as if the match was as good as over.

Thankfully no one told the GB&I team and a stunning comeback victory for the hosts, the biggest ever, unfolded as the final ten games played out. GB&I won the Singles series 7.0 – 3.0 to take the overall match 13.5 – 12.5.

It was GB&I’s tenth Walker Cup victory and first since 2015. USA have won 40 of the 51 matches played to date with 1 being tied.

The GB&I Team (Photo by Ross Parker / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

SUNDAY FOURSOMES (6,808 yards)

The Sunday Foursomes draw was announced on Saturday evening with play commencing at 8.00am.

Dean Robertson, GB&I captain, stuck with his pairings from Day 1 with Ben Bolton and Jake Whaley again left out. Nathan Smith, USA captain, chose to rest Stewart Hagestad but brought in William Jennings for Josiah Gilbert, who had struggled on Day 1.

The morning Foursomes session turned into a nightmare for the home side with the USA team playing outstandingly well, building momentum and comprehensively going on to win all four games. It was the first 4-0 sweep in a Foursomes session since the USA swept the Day 2 series in 2007 at Royal County Down.

Hoping to extend their lead before trying to see out the historically troublesome final Singles series the GB&I side looked tired and played poorly with numerous missed shots and very few putts holed.

At lunch everyone assumed that the psychological damage inflicted on the home side would be unsurmountable. With USA needing just 3.5 points from the 10 available in the Sunday Singles to retain the Cup the match appeared over. If further evidence of this was required no team had ever won the Cup having been three points behind after three sessions.

1. Stuart Grehan & Eliot Baker v. Preston Stout & Ethan Fang

Preston Stout and Ethan Fang were deserved winners against Stuart Grehan and Eliot Baker. They got off to a fast start and when the GB&I pair started to make mistakes they had the consistency to build on their lead. The highlight of the game was Stout’s drive on the short par 4 13th which finished no more than 2 feet away.

2. Luke Poulter & Sam Easterbrook v. Jay Leng Jr & Kihei Akina

Leng Jr. and Akina produced a near blemish free performance, with six birdies over the first 13 holes, to take out GB&I’s Poulter and Easterbrook by 4&3.

3. Tyler Weaver & Connor Graham v. Miles Russell & Tyler Watts

The young left-handers Miles Russell and Tyler Watts played well against an out of sorts Tyler Weaver and Connor Graham and won Game 3 relatively easily.

4. Niall Sheils Donegan & Josh Hill v. William Jennings & Ryder Cowan

Like all of the games that preceded them the USA pairing of William Jennings and Ryder Cowan started strongly, established a lead and then saw out the match with little difficulty.

Session Score: GB&I 0.0 – 4.0 USA

SUNDAY SINGLES (6,844 yards)

Ten Singles were played on Sunday afternoon featuring all of the players from both teams.

GB&I got off to a great start winning the first four games and belief started to rise rise amongst the GB&I team and their supporters as these results were confirmed.

After GB&I’s leading players had laid the foundations for a possible surprise win 1 Hole wins for both Eliot Baker and shortly afterwards Josh Hill, when they both got up and down for birdies from around a packed 18th green, proved to be critical to the final outcome.

There were also important late halves for Niall Sheils Donegan and Connor Graham to ensure GB&I reached the 13.5 points they required for an outright victory.

1. Stuart Grehan v. Preston Stout

After bogeying the 1st hole and falling 2Down after the 2nd Stuart Grehan played superbly well to secure a second victory in the top Singles game against WAGR ranked No. 1 Preston Stout.

2. Luke Poulter v. Ethan Fang

A strong back nine which saw four birdies over the difficult closing holes ensured Luke Poulter saw out a crucial Singles win for GB&I against Ethan Fang.

3. Jack Whaley v. William Jennings

The U.S. Amateur champion Jack Whaley produced six birdies on his way to a one-sided win over the previously unbeaten William Jennings. The 8&7 margin of victory was the largest ever by a GB&I player overtaking Irish legend Joe Carr’s 7&5 win at Turnberry in 1963.

4. Tyler Weaver v. Jay Leng Jr

Tyler Weaver finally lived up to his billing at the 51st Walker Cup match. Four birdies and an eagle saw him pull away from Jay Leng Jr to ensure GB&I would take all four of the opening Singles.

5. Niall Sheils Donegan v. Kihei Akina

Despite not being at his best Niall Sheils Donegan battled for a point against Kihei Akina in a game he trailed in for the majority of the holes.

6. Eliot Baker v. Stewart Hagestad

Eliot Baker produced a clutch up and down on the 18th hole to pick up a hard earned win against USA Singles talisman Stewart Hagestad.

7. Connor Graham v. Miles Russell

Having been 3Down after 11 holes Connor Graham finished with five birdies over the final seven, and crucially two on the last two, to salvage a half in a game he looked destined to lose for most of the afternoon.

8. Josh Hill v. Tyler Watts

Josh Hill produced a memorable up and down from the front right bunker on 18 to win his tight game against Tyler Watts and in doing so secure a Walker Cup victory that will live long in the memory.

9. Ben Bolton v. Ryder Cowan

Ryder Cowan didn’t drop a shot as his consistency proved too much for Ben Bolton. The Enville man had taken an early lead before finding the pressure as the match came down to the wire a little too much to handle.

10. Sam Easterbrook v. Josiah Gilbert

Josiah Gilbert found his links form on the final afternoon with a solid performance against Sam Easterbrook. The American started well taking the lead on the 2nd and never looked back on his way to a hardly troubled 4&3 win.

Session Score: GB&I 7.0 – 3.0 USA

Day 2 Result: GB&I 7.0 – 7.0 USA

Match Result: GB&I 13.5 – 12.5 USA

Here is my summary of the Day 2 Individual Performances: –

All of the scorecards shown above are courtesy of The R&A / Golfbox Scoring.

ME.

199. 2026 Walker Cup – Day 1 Report

5th September 2026

DAY 1 REPORT

Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) edged the opening day of the 51st Walker Cup match at Lahinch G.C., earning a 6½ – 5½ lead against the United States of America (USA).

It is the eleventh time that GB&I have led the Walker Cup at the end of Day 1. However, they have only been able to convert the previous ten leads into match wins on five occasions (1938, 1989, 1995, 2011 and 2015).

Niall Sheils Donegan led GB&I with two wins and was ably supported by Stuart Grehan and Eliot Baker who contributed 1.5 points each on Day 1.

Ethan Fang delivered 1.5 points for the USA with Stewart Hagestad and William Jennings both entered the fray successfully with wins in the afternoon Singles series for the visitors.

Speaking at the close of play GB&I captain Dean Robertson said ““To be ahead, we’re thrilled at that. Last year we had the great foursomes session in the morning at Cypress Point and got turned over. This time we’re going ahead tomorrow.

“So we’re under no illusions. It’s going to be extremely challenging. But I think the weather is going to play a factor as well tomorrow, so everybody will have to be on their mettle and it’s going to be a tough day. The US team went to 10 in the singles, have always had that depth, but we’ve got depth and confidence in our preparation as well, so we’re ready for tomorrow and looking forward to it.”

USA captain Nathan Smith said “We need to come out, play well in the morning session and then you got ten points in the afternoon. So we need to be ready to play. We feel good about how we played today. Some great golf out there and still feel good about a lot of our pairings. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow.

“A lot of these matches, it seems like the last how many Walker Cups have kind of started like this. I think probably both teams probably feel good about where they are at and just going to go play for it tomorrow.”

SATURDAY FOURSOMES (6,777 yards)

The Saturday Foursomes draw was announced at the Opening Ceremony on Friday evening with play commencing at Lahinch at 8.30am.

Dean Robertson, GB&I captain, chose not to select Ben Bolton and U.S. Amateur champion Jake Whaley for this session whilst Nathan Smith, USA captain, rested Stewart Hagestad and William Jennings.

GB&I reprised two of their 2025 Cypress Point foursome pairings, Stuart Grehan & Eliot Baker and Connor Graham and Tyler Weaver.

In an entertaining start to the match three of the four Foursomes games required all 18 holes to be played. In the end GB&I took the session 2.5 – 1.5 with their two experienced pairings contributing 1.5 of these points.

It is the third consecutive match where GB&I have taken an early lead. In 2023 at St Andrews and 2025 at Cypress Point they led by 3.0 – 1.0 against USA. In fact USA haven’t won an opening Foursomes session since 2009 (3.0 – 1.0).

1. Stuart Grehan & Eliot Baker v. Preston Stout & Ethan Fang

Stuart Grehan and Eliot Baker gained a half point for GB&I against world number one Preston Stout and Ethan Fang after the 2025 Amateur Champion pushed his par putt for USA wide on the 18th.

2. Connor Graham & Tyler Weaver v. Jay Leng Jr & Kihei Akina

Connor Graham and Tyler Weaver won a high quality match against Jay Leng Jr and Kihei Akina thanks largely to an unbelievable putting display by the Scotsman.

3. Luke Poulter & Sam Easterbrook v. Miles Russel & Tyler Watts

Luke Poulter and Sam Easterbrook fought back well from being 3Down with 8 holes to play to take the left-handed pairing of Miles Russell and Tyler Watts to the final hole. Russell won the day with a clutch birdie putt which Easterbrook nearly matched but just lipped out.

4. Niall Sheils Donegan & Josh Hill v. Josiah Gilbert & Ryder Cowan

Niall Sheils Donegan and Josh Hill delivered a convincing 4&3 win against Josiah Gilbert and Ryder Cowan in the final game. The GB&I pairing took the lead on the 3rd hole and built on it nicely as the American pairing were unable to get anything going in a generally disappointing performance.

Session Score: GB&I 2.5 – 1.5 USA

SATURDAY SINGLES (6,796 yards)

With only eight Singles being played on Day 1 two players from each team had to miss the afternoon series.

Captain Robertson dropped Sam Easterbrook and Josh Hill from his GB&I line up giving Ben Bolton and Jake Whaley their debuts. Nathan Smith left Kihei Akina and Ryder Cowan out introducing experienced Stewart Hagestad and William Jennings to his team.

After USA started the session strongly GB&I delivered three late wins to ensure the session was halved 4.0 – 4.0.

1. Stuart Grehan v. Preston Stout

Home favourite Stuart Grehan called upon all of his experience to produce an outstanding display battling back to win his game against a stunned Preston Stout on the last with a birdie four.

2. Jack Whaley v. Ethan Fang

In an up and down game Ethan Fang got the better of Jack Whaley by 1 Hole. Whaley, having battled back superbly from a hot start by his opponent, will be disappointed with his play over the closing holes which led to at least a half point slipping away from the hosts.

3. Connor Graham v. William Jennings

William Jennings showed his class this afternoon with a solid 1 Hole win against GB&I star man Connor Graham. Given the number of lengthy putts he holed today it seems unfair to suggest that Graham will be reflecting on a few short misses on the back nine but ultimately they cost him a win.

4. Tyler Weaver v. Jay Leng Jr

Tyler Weaver, understandably not as competitively sharp as he would no doubt like due to his recent five month injury lay, just came up short against an in form Jay Leng Jr.

5. Ben Bolton v. Stewart Hagestad

Stewart Hagestad extended his impressive Walker Cup singles record to eight wins with a 2&1 victory over Ben Bolton. Timely birdies at the par-3 11th and shortly afterwards at the 13th swung the match in favour of the tall American.

6. Luke Poulter v. Miles Russell

Luke Poulter got revenge for his late foursomes loss earlier in the day with a good win against Miles Russell. The Florida-based Englishman notched five birdies as he took the game on the 17th green.

7. Niall Sheils Donegan v. Tyler Watts

After a good Walker Cup debut at Cypress Point last year Niall Sheils Donegan continues to impress in the match. He notched his second win of the day against World No. 2 Tyler Watts; his short game and consistency too much for the American to handle.

8. Eliot Baker v. Josiah Gilbert

Eliot Baker completed a fine tail end performance from GB&I with a solid 3&2 win against Josiah Gilbert who was unable to muster much resistance.

Session Score: GB&I 4.0 – 4.0 USA

Day 1 Score: GB&I 6.5 – 5.5 USA

Here is my summary of the Day 1 Individual Performances: –

All of the scorecards shown above are courtesy of The R&A / Golfbox Scoring.

ME.

197. 2026 USA Walker Cup Team Is Announced

16th August 2026

Following the conclusion of the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship on Sunday 16th August the USGA’s Teams Selection Committee working group confirmed the 10 players who will represent the USA in the 2026 Walker Cup match.

The USA Team, led by captain Nathan Smith, will compete against Great Britain and Ireland in the 51st Walker Cup Match on 5th-6th September at Lahinch G.C. in County Claire, Ireland.

Four players had already been selected in advance of the U.S. Amateur so today saw the six remaining players confirmed.

Preston STOUT (22), Tyler WATTS (18) and Ethan FANG (21) who were ranked 1st, 3rd and 4th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) were automatically selected on 8th July 2026.

Miles RUSSELL (17), WAGR ranked #5 at the time, was also added to the USA roster by the USGA Team Selection Committee when they formally announced the above on 9th July 2026.

USA Walker Cup Team (Graphic: USGA)

Kihei AKINA (19 / WAGR #110, Ryder COWAN (21 / WAGR #8), Josiah GILBERT (21 / WAGR #7), William JENNINGS (20 / WAGR #5), Stewart HAGESTAD (35 / WAGR #27) and Jay LENG JR. (20 / WAGR #23) were the additional players named to the 2026 USA Walker Cup Team this evening.

Max HERENDEEN (21 / WAGR #26) of Bellevue, Washington and Logan REILLY (19 / WAGR #56) of Lovettsville, Virginia were also named as the USA’s first and second alternates, respectively.

The USA will have three returning players in their 2026 line-up, namely Stewart Hagestad, Ethan Fang and Preston Stout.

USA Player Profiles – Courtesy of the USGA

Kihei AKINA (20) – Alpine, Utah
Earned the 2026 Phil Mickelson Award as the nation’s top collegiate freshman in his first season at Brigham Young University.
Akina tied for eighth in the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort.
He was runner-up in the Big 12 Conference Championship and won a pair of collegiate tournaments during the 2025-26 season.
He has made two cuts on the PGA TOUR in 2026.
Akina made the Quarter finals of this year’s Amateur Championship and the Round of 64 at the U.S. Amateur.

Ryder COWAN (21) – Edmond, Oklahoma
Earned low-amateur honors at the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, finishing tied 23rd.
He is a rising University of Oklahoma senior having posted one collegiate victory this past season.
Cowan has qualified for the last three U.S. Amateurs.

Ethan FANG (21) – Plano, Texas
WAGR No. 4 after winning the Maridoe Collegiate and finishing in the top 10 of the Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship.
A junior at Oklahoma State.
In 2025, he captured The Amateur Championship at Royal St. George’s.
He represented USA at the 2025 World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore.

Josiah GILBERT (21) – Millbrook, Alabama
A rising senior at Auburn University, where he helped the Tigers to their 2024 and 2026 NCAA Division I titles.
DGilbert’s 2026 season earned him PING Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors.
Currently No. 8 on the WAGR, Gilbert advanced to match play in his third U.S. Amateur appearance.

Stewart HAGESTAD (35) – Newport Beach, California
He will be competing in his sixth Walker Cup match. He has won all five he’s played and has W7-L1 record.
U.S. Mid-Amateur champion in 2016, 2021 & 2023.
Hagestad has qualified for five U.S. Opens, making one cut once in 2022.
Only invited U.S. Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut at The Masters (2017).
Advanced to the Round of 32 at the 2026 U.S. Amateur.
Works as a broker for investment bank BDT & MSD Partners in Palm Beach, FL.

William JENNINGS (20) – Greenville, South Carolina
A rising junior at the University of Alabama he earned a 2nd place finish during the stroke-play portion of the 2026 NCAA National Championships.
He has one collegiate victory to his name at the Fields of Honor Collegiate in 2025.
He advanced to match play at the 2025 and 2026 (Round of 16) U.S. Amateur Championships.

Jay LENG JR (20) – San Diego, California
Winner of the 2026 Western Amateur and Runner-up at the 2026 U.S. Amateur and Northeast Amateur.
A rising junior at Stanford.
Leng Jr. advanced to the semi-finals of the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur.
He was also a member of the 2023 USA Junior Ryder Cup Team.

Miles RUSSELL (17) – Jacksonville Beach, Florida
The left-hander finished fifth at the Northeast Amateur, tied 2nd at the Jones Cup and won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley.
Currently ranked 5th in WAGR he has committed to Florida State in 2027.
In 2024, Russell became the youngest player in Korn Ferry Tour history to make a cut, doing so at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida.
Also named the 2023 and 2025 AJGA’s Player of the Year.

PRESTON STOUT (21) – Dallas, Texas
Rising senior at Oklahoma State where he claimed the 2026 NCAA Division I individual title and helped his team to victory in the 2025 Championship.
Stout currently sits at No. 1 in WAGR after posting four collegiate victories in the 2025-26 season.
Represented the USA in the 2025 Palmer Cup, World Amateur Team Championship and Walker Cup.
Won the 2025 Northeast Amateur by eight strokes.

Tyler WATTS (18) – Huntsville, Alabama
Became the youngest winner of the Northeast Amateur in June 2026.
Watts, WAGR No. 3, will be starting at the University of Tennessee later this month.
In 2025 he won the 84th Sunnehanna Amateur after shooting 18 under par, the lowest 72-hole score in the history of the event.
The left hander also made the championship match of the 2025 North & South Amateur at Pinehurst.
In 2023, Watts claimed the 107th Alabama State Amateur Championship title, setting the record as the youngest player in history to win at age 15.
That same year, he won the Jones Cup Junior Invitational at Sea Island (Ga.) G.C.

ME.