Match Report – 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 dramatic comeback victory for the hosts, the biggest ever, unfolded as the final ten games played out in the afternoon. 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.

Speaking afterwards a proud GB&I captain Dean Robertson said “We are so elated. We’re hardly able to put it into words. There’s a lot of emotion, a lot of happy tears. But pride, pride is the word I would use to describe this. The boys have delivered and I am incredibly proud of each and every one of them.”

USA Captain Nathan Smith said “The match was incredible. It was definitely a tale of two days with what happened this morning and how they played this afternoon. We knew how great their team was. They’re a deep team. We knew they were capable of anything. Really at no time did we take the foot off the accelerator. But they played great.”

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 insurmountable. With USA needing just 3.5 points from the 10 available in the Sunday Singles to retain the Cup the match was there for the winning. 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.

It was arguably GB&I’s best ever Singles performance although the 2001 6.5-1.5 result at Ocean Forest in the 2001 away win pushes it close.

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 included 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 as GB&I’s top player 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 scorecard graphics 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 against USA. In 2023 at St Andrews and 2025 at Cypress Point they led by 3.0 – 1.0. 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 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’s 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 second win on Day 1.

4. Tyler Weaver v. Jay Leng Jr

Tyler Weaver, understandably not as competitively sharp as he would 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 scorecard graphics shown above are courtesy of The R&A / Golfbox Scoring.

ME.

189. 2025 Walker Cup – Day 2 Report

Sunday 7th September 2025

DAY 2 REPORT

USA won the 50th Walker Cup match, their fifth consecutive victory, by 17.0-9.0.

Day 2 again got off to a cloudy and cool start in California before warming up nicely as the Foursomes reached the turn. The fog rolled back in later in the afternoon as the Singles came to a close.

Leading 6.5-5.5 after Day 1 holder’s USA needed 6.5 points from the 14.0 on offer on Sunday to retain the Walker Cup at Cypress Point. They were of course looking for at least 7.0 points to ensure an outright win in this match.

After the Day 2 Foursomes were halved 2.0-2.0 the match was still tight with USA holding a narrow 1.0 point lead heading into the Sunday Singles session.

USA would go on to win the Singles 8.5-1.5 to put a somewhat flattering scoreline on the event which in the most part had been competitive.

Session Score: USA 8.5 – 1.5 GB&I

Day 2 Score: USA 10.5 – 3.5 GB&I

SUNDAY FOURSOMES

The morning Foursomes were tied 2.0-2.0. Arguably a fair result as each team gifted their opponents one of the four games contested. However, GB&I will feel the harder done by given the nature of their capitulation in the opening game and their much greater need to win the session.

Captain Nathan Smith left out Stewart Hagestad and Ben James from his Foursomes line-up whilst GB&I rested Dominic Clemons and Gavin Tiernan.

Captain Dean Robertson explained what he would be saying to his team at lunch “The momentum switches quickly in match play, and we’re behind. How, I don’t know, but anything to keep up concentration. We need to be tighter coming down the stretch. It’s going to be a great fun afternoon.”

Reflecting on the session Smith said “We were looking to get off to a fast start, maybe hold serve with the session or win it, and we did that. We’re in a good spot going into this afternoon. We’ve got to play good. I think it’s up for grabs, and the team that plays better this afternoon will probably come out with it.”

1. Jackson Koivun & Tommy Morrison v. Connor Graham & Tyler Weaver
Two early birdies saw the USA pairing of Jackson Koivun and Tommy Morrison take a 2Up lead after five holes. To their credit Connor Graham and Tyler Weaver fought back superbly to take their own 2Up lead after 10 holes. 1Up on the 17th tee the GB&I pair found the green in regulation around 12 feet from the hole. With the Americans 7 feet away in three the position could not have been much better for them. Whether Tyler Weaver was focussed solely on glory with a birdie or whether the pressure of the situation got to him only he knows but he badly judged the speed of his downhill putt. When Morrison holed his par putt it was inevitable that Graham, who had putted beautifully all morning, would miss his own 6 foot return. Game All Square. Graham then compounded his partner’s error by slicing his iron off the 18th tee and completely blocking out Weaver. In the end the GB&I pairing did well to make a bogey 5 but when Koivun holed a testing downhill 3 footer for par an unlikely comeback had been completed.

2. Ethan Fang & Preston Stout v. Charlie Forster & Luke Poulter
Ethan Fang and Preston Stout grasped defeat from the jaws of victory in Game 2. Four up after 10 holes the Americans looked on course for a comfortable win. However, a combination of their own poor play and Charlie Forster and Luke Poulter ‘catching fire’ saw the USA pairing lose the 11th to a par and then tellingly another four holes in a row, the 13th-16th, with GB&I recording two birdies and two pars. 1Up with two holes to play the GB&I boys held on valiantly for a crucial win for their team.

3. Mason Howell & Jacob Modleski v. Eliot Baker & Stuart Grehan
Some poor holes from Eliot Baker and Stuart Grehan on the front nine handed the early advantage to their American opponents, Mason Howell and Jacob Modleski. The GB&I pair battled to the end but ultimately had left themselves too much to do. The match finished with three outrageous shots. Not for the first time Howell holed a lengthy birdie putt on the 15th, Grehan then chipped in from 50 feet on the 16th to keep the game alive before Howell holed his approach for an eagle 2 – one bounce and in – on the 17th to put an end to the fun.

4. Michael La Sasso & Jase Summy v. Cameron Adam & Niall Shiels Donegan
The Scottish pairing of Cameron Adam and Niall Shiels Donegan took the lead on the 2nd hole and after some great play around the turn – five 3’s in 6 holes – found themselves 5Up after 12. Despite a wobble or two coming home they thankfully got the job done on the 17th green and ensured the overall session would be halved.

Session Score: USA 2.0 – 2.0 GB&I

SUNDAY SINGLES

USA thrashed GB&I 8.5-1.5 in the Day 2 Singles to run out comfortable winners of the 50th Walker Cup match.

All ten players on both sides were in action on the final afternoon.

A delighted Nathan Smith said “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Walker Cup team bring it like they did this afternoon in singles.”

GB&I captain Dean Robertson was fulsome in his praise for the winners. “We were in it. We fought hard. Our foursomes performances were exceptional. But for a few putts, I think the big difference for us is we need to be better putters. We never really managed to clutch out some of the games, and then this afternoon Team USA performed brilliantly, and hats off to them, and well done to Nathan and his team.”

1. Jackson Koivun v. Tyler Weaver
Playing at No. 1 Tyler Weaver was always likely to be facing Jackson Koivun, a generational talent who has already earned a PGA Tour card. Weaver played well but Koivun was simply too good and birdies on 13 and 15 saw the American pick up his second singles win against the Florida State-based Englishman.

2. Tommy Morrison v. Niall Shiels Donegan
Niall Shiels Donegan was unable to make it three wins from three games against the Texas giant Tommy Morrison who produced five birdies on route to a 3&2 win.

3. Mason Howell v. Connor Graham
Mason Howell and Connor Graham, both 18 years old, tied their game; a competitive one where neither player ever led by more than 1 Hole. Graham restored parity with a birdie on the 15th before the 16th was halved with birdies in a high quality finish.

4. Preston Stout v. Luke Poulter
Preston Stout secured the winning point for USA handing Luke Poulter a 2&1 defeat in a game that saw the two of them share an impressive 11 birdies.

5. Ethan Fang v. Stuart Grehan
Ethan Fang stepped up in his singles against Stuart Grehan, a repeat of yesterday afternoon’s drawn game between the two of them. Early birdies on 3 and 4 provided the platform for the American’s win and after he won the 9th, 10th and 11th holes the contest was quickly brought to a close on the 14th green.

6. Stewart Hagestad v. Eliot Baker
Stewart Hagestad secured the 13th point to guarantee that USA would retain the Cup with his 4&3 victory over Eliot Baker, holing a 20-foot birdie putt on the 15th green to close it out. He is now W7-L1 in singles play and has won all five of the matches he has contested for USA.

7. Ben James v. Charlie Forster
Game 7 was another close contest which eventually fell the way of the Americans. Charlie Forster played well but badly timed bogeys on the 13th and 15th holes handed Ben James the initiative and he was good enough to hang on over the remaining three holes for his point.

8. Jase Summy v. Cameron Adam
Last month’s Western Amateur champion Jase Summy, one of the star performers for USA, earned his third win with a 3&1 victory over Cameron Adam. In an otherwise solid performance the Scotsman’s bogeys on 9 and 11 proved to be critical to his chances.

9. Michael La Sasso v Gavin Tiernan
Amateur Championship runner-up Gavin Tiernan will be pleased to leave the Monterey Peninsula with a 2&1 win over Michael La Sasso; made all the sweeter by it being GB&I’s only victory on the final afternoon. La Sasso surprisingly unravelled coming down the home stretch and Tiernan was pleased to be the beneficiary of his generosity.

10. Jacob Modleski v. Dominic Clemons
In an up and down match Dominic Clemons, who has struggled for form over the last 12 months, was simply too inconsistent to get anything from his game against Jacob Modleski. After a poor start the Englishman won five holes in six to find himself 3Up at the turn. However, five bogeys on the back nine including a deciding one on the 18th saw him lose by 1 Hole. Whilst he was only afforded two outings Clemons leaves Cypress Point as the only player not to contribute a point on either side.

Session Score: USA 8.5 – 1.5 GB&I

Day 2 Score: USA 10.5 – 3.5 GB&I

Match Result: USA 17.0 – 9.0 GB&I

Click here to view the – Walker Cup Scoreboard

Here is my summary of the Individual Performances: –

All of the scorecards shown above are courtesy of the USGA / CISCO Scoring.

ME.

188. 2025 Walker Cup – Day 1 Report

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.