Great Britain and Ireland defeated the United States of America 13½-12½ to win the 51st Walker Cup at Lahinch in one of the most dramatic finishes in the match’s 104-year history.
Trailing 9½-6½ going into this afternoon’s singles session, Dean Robertson’s side conjured up a comeback for the ages which culminated in Josh Hill securing the winning point on the 18th hole with the last putt of the match to secure GB&I’s first victory in the historic encounter since 2015.
The victory by GB&I at the iconic links on the County Clare coast ends the streak of five victories in the Walker Cup by the USA and is GB&I’s tenth win overall.
Morning Foursomes – USA on the charge
But none of that looked remotely likely when the visiting sideswept the morning foursomes 4-0 for the first time since the 2007 to cruise into a 9½-6½ lead before this afternoon’s singles.
World no.1 amateur Preston Stout and Ethan Fang got the better of home favourite Stuart Grehan and Eliot Baker by a 3&2 margin, highlighted by an eagle two at the par-4 13th.
With the scoreboard turning red in favour of the visitors, Kihei Akina and Jay Leng Jr edged the USA in front in the match overall with a resounding 4&3 defeat of Luke Poulter and Sam Easterbrook, before William Jennings and Ryder Cowan dominated their encounter with Niall Sheils Donegan and Josh Hill to win by the same margin.
The morning’s complete dominance by the USA was confirmed shortly after thanks to Miles Russell and Tyler Watts beating Tyler Weaver and Connor Graham 3&2.
Afternoon Singles – GB&I come storming back
US Amateur champion Jack Whaley got GB&I’s comeback effort off to a flying start when he blew away William Jennings 8&7 in the third match out to reduce the deficit to two points. In doing so he equalled the second largest margin of victory in a singles match in the Walker Cup.
Grehan, the lone Irishman in Robertson’s side, then delighted the home galleries by coming back from two holes down against Stout to win 2&1 in the top match of the draw before Poulter drew the sides level at 9½-9½ by defeating Fang 3&1 in the second match.
Home hopes rose further when Weaver edged GB&I back in front in the match with a convincing 4&3 scoreline against Leng Jr in match no.4, while Donegan kept his composure at the last to secure a vital half in match no.5 against Akina after the American missed a putt to win the match from close range.
American rearguard action
The USA responded shortly after when Josiah Gilbert defeated Sam Easterbrook 4&3 in match 10. Baker then claimed another point for the hosts when he birdied the last against Walker Cup veteran Stewart Hagestad to win by one hole before Cowan looked to have put the visitors in a commanding position as the match headed towards its conclusion with a 3&2 defeat of Ben Bolton in Match 9.
With only two matches left out on the course, the USA only needed a point to retain the trophy while GB&I needed one and a half points to win the match outright.
Graham secured an important half point in his match against Russell, coming back from three down at the 11th, to win the last with a birdie and leave Hill requiring a point against Watts in the last match on course.
The Englishman found the greenside bunker with his approach but dug deep to produce a wonderful 50-yard recovery which left him a three-foot birdie putt. With Watts unable to convert his birdie chance from 25 feet, Hill calmly holed out to delight the thousands of fans thronging around the 18th arena and set off wild celebrations the rest of the GB&I team watching on and among the home supporters.
Great Britain & Ireland captain Dean Robertson, who was tasting victory for the first time in the event as captain following two defeats, said: “I’m so elated, I’m 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.
“There was most definitely a belief in the players, and even though we were swept 4-0 this morning there wasn’t any despondency. The American team were outstanding this morning. The quality of the golf was sensational. It really was and you’ve really just got to tip your cap and say well played.
“When we came in at lunchtime I had to change the order and we had to bring some energy so that we could feed off of that. Stuart Grehan, he brought the energy, as did Luke Poulter, Jack Whaley, and Tyler Weaver. And it started to kind of grow from there. And then Josh Hill produced a Matt Fitzpatrick-style bunker shot at the last and holed it and we’ve got the Walker Cup. The boys have delivered and I am incredibly proud of each and every one of them.”
For all the scores from the Walker Cup, click here.
To watch TV highlights of the action from Lahinch, click here.
