Great Britain and Ireland will carry a 6½-5½ lead into the final day of the 51st Walker Cup after a late singles rally at Lahinch Golf Club.
Dean Robertson’s side led the United States 2½-1½ following Saturday morning’s foursomes, but slipped two points behind during the afternoon. Victories in the final three singles then restored the hosts’ advantage in front of 8,000 spectators on the County Clare links.
Niall Sheils Donegan was GB&I’s leading scorer with two wins, while Ethan Fang collected 1½ points for the visitors.
GB&I Make Strong Foursomes Start
Sheils Donegan and Josh Hill claimed the clearest result of the opening session, beating Josiah Gilbert and Ryder Cowan 4&3.
Stuart Grehan and Eliot Baker halved with world No. 1 Preston Stout and Fang after Stout missed a par putt at the 18th. Connor Graham and Tyler Weaver also secured a point, defeating Jay Leng Jr and Kihei Akina by one hole.
The USA’s morning victory came through Miles Russell and Tyler Watts. Luke Poulter and Sam Easterbrook recovered from three down after the 10th to level their match, only for Russell to hole a birdie putt on the final green.
Grehan Beats World No. 1
Grehan produced the first major turn of the singles, recovering from three down after five holes to beat Stout with a birdie four at the 18th. The reigning Amateur champion also won the South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch in 2015, the year of GB&I’s most recent Walker Cup victory.
The Americans responded with four consecutive wins. Fang beat Jack Whaley by one hole, Leng defeated Weaver 2&1, William Jennings edged Graham by one hole and Stewart Hagestad overcame Ben Bolton 2&1.
Hagestad’s victory, sealed on the 17th, was his eighth win in nine Walker Cup singles matches and moved the USA 5½-3½ ahead.
Sheils Donegan began the home recovery by beating Watts 3&2. Baker followed with the same winning margin against Gilbert before Poulter defeated Russell 2&1 to put GB&I back in front.
“To be ahead, we’re thrilled at that, so we’re under no illusions. It’s going to be extremely challenging.”
Said Robertson
USA captain Nathan Smith said his side remained confident:
“We need to come out, play well in the morning session and then you got ten points in the afternoon.”
Sunday begins with four foursomes before ten concluding singles matches. The USA, which holds a 40-9-1 advantage in the series, is seeking a sixth consecutive victory. Live coverage is available on Sky Sports, Golf Channel and R&A platforms.
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.