[Photo: Oisin Keniry/R&A]
It was over.
The Americans swept the morning foursomes and led by three points with 10 singles matches remaining. Great Britain and Ireland had never come from that far behind to win the Walker Cup.
Until Sunday.
Walking alongside 8,000 dedicated fans in the wind and the rain, GB&I captain Dean Robertson watched as his team did the unthinkable and captured the Walker Cup for the first time since 2015. GB&I won the singles session 7-3 and the overall matches 13½ to 12½.
“There’s a lot of emotion” Robertson said. “A lot of happy tears. But pride, pride is the word I would use to describe.”
Photo: Warren Little
There weren’t many people at Lahinch Golf Club who thought a victory for the home side was possible with a session to play. So what was said between the 10 players and their captain at lunch?
It wasn’t what was said, it was what was played.
“I was so deflated.” said Stuart Grehan. “I have to say the lads came in and once the tunes got going, I was like, F-it.”
Turns out it was Luke Poulter who was the unofficial team DJ and Oasis’ “Wonderwall” was the first song played during the mid-session break in order to inspire the comeback.
And was Grehan himself, who led the team for the fourth straight session, producing another magical display against world No.1 amateur Preston Stout. After losing the first two holes, he fought back to all-square after six holes and then found another gear on the back nine.
When his approach to the par-5 11th hole nearly dropped for an albatross, he took the lead in the match and never gave it up, beating Stout 2&1.
Photo: Warren Little
“I got off to a rough start,” said the local hero, “but after that I found my rhythm. I’m very proud of myself.”
If Grehan set the tone, his teammates certainly listened. Behind the Amateur champion was Poulter, who never trailed in his battle against Ethan Fang, the American who was unbeaten in his first three matches of the week. A wonderful approach to the 17th hole finally sealed a 3&1 victory for the Englishman, with his father Ian watching on from the gallery.
Behind Poulter, but finishing earlier than everyone was England’s Jack Whaley. The US Amateur champion dominated his match against world No.5 William Jennings. After 11 holes, Whaley was six-under-par and shaking hands with Jennings, winning his point easily, 8&7. It was a huge win for the home side and the largest margin of victory by a GB&I player since matches became 18 holes in 1963.
Photo: Oisin Keniry/R&A
When Tyler Weaver beat Jay Leng Jnr in the fourth match, 4&3, the home side took the lead for the first time in the afternoon session and Captain Robertson felt the impossible was quickly becoming possible.
“We had to bring some energy so that we could feed off that.” Robertson said of the early starters in his order. “[Stuart] brought the energy, and Luke Poulter, Jack Whaley, Tyler Weaver. They kind of started to kind of grow from there.”
Photo: Ross Parker/R&A
In Match 5, American Kihei Akina led for most of the afternoon against Scotland’s Niall Sheils Donegan, but a lucky break for the Scot on the 16th hole saw his tee shot bounce over a greenside bunker and a par saw him level the match. Akina then missed from short range on the final green and Donegan’s par was enough to earn a half point.
At this point, things were definitely getting interesting. Momentum was dressed in blue with red lions on their caps.
Remember, we are just a year from a tight Sunday at Cypress Point turning sour for the GB&I side as they failed to win any of the first eight singles matches on Sunday, losing the session 8½ to 1½ and watching the Walker Cup stay with the US side for the fifth consecutive time.
But this year felt different. Six of the team that lost at Cypress returned this year, the most returning players GB&I have ever had. Perhaps that experience paid off in Ireland. And it was needed.
After the quick start from the home side, the American’s began to fight back. Josiah Gilbert won his match over Sam Easterbrook and another point was secured by Ryder Cowan in the penultimate match, 3&2 over Ben Bolton.
Photo: Ross Parker/R&A
The US had regained the lead. Three matches remained. Great Britain and Ireland required 2½ points from the three to make history.
First, there was Eliot Baker. He had led throughout his match against Stewart Hagestad, the 35-year-old veteran who was 8-1 in Walker Cup singles matches, but found himself over a five-foot birdie putt on the 18th green with most of Lahinch tightly packed on the fringe. The putt dropped, a full point earned and a home-crowd roar was sent back down the course to the final two matches.
Next was Scotland’s Connor Graham. He was matched with America’s young star Miles Russell. When Russell found trouble off the tee on the 17th hole, Graham was able to stay alive and head down the 18th hole, 1 down. Like Baker before him, he faced a nervy, short putt to secure a crucial half point. Again it dropped, again the crowd went wild.
And so, the Walker Cup came down to the final match on the course. England’s Josh Hill versus world No.3 Tyler Watts.
Photo: Ross Parker/R&A
Neither player led by more than one hole throughout the day and came to the par-5 18th hole tied. Watts had the honour and missed the fairway. Hill hit a good drive but found the first cut. The American hacked out to 60 paces while the Englishman was able to advance his ball into a greenside bunker.
Once Watts hit his approach to 20 feet and the eager crowd was moved back from the edge of the bunker, Hill settled into his stance in the sand and prepared for the biggest shot of his life. A swipe, an explosion of sand and then an explosion of sound. His bunker shot had rolled out to four feet behind the hole. The impossible suddenly became probable.
Watts putt narrowly missed and the stage was set for Hill. Thousands of spectators stood around the green, his team hunched over on the fringe behind him. He wasted no time addressing the ball and sent it to the bottom of the hole, completing the greatest comeback in the 104-year history of the Walker Cup.
Among a host of college stars and top amateurs in the game, it was the lowest-ranked player in the field that clinched the cup.
“It’s obviously an honour to be in Walker Cup history,” Hill said. “I think from the lowest-ranked in the field point of view, I didn’t really care about that. I had full confidence in myself… that only drove me to prove my worth this week. Hopefully I proved my worth.”
At that moment in the press conference, Captain Robertson leaned over, patted Hill on the back, smiled and told him, “You definitely did.”
It was a truly remarkable sports moment. A comeback started by a local hero and completed by the unlikeliest of heroes. A day that the village of Lahinch will long remember and the sport will never forget.
