Great Britain & Ireland produced a stunning comeback at Lahinch Golf Club on Sunday, defeating the United States 13.5-12.5 to win the 51st Walker Cup. GB&I entered the final singles session trailing 9.5-6.5 after the Americans swept the morning foursomes, but rallied to win seven of the 10 available points. The victory marked GB&I’s first Walker Cup triumph since 2015 and ended a run of five consecutive American wins.
The turnaround began immediately. Stuart Grehan, sent out first by captain Dean Robertson, overcame an early two-hole deficit to defeat world No. 1 amateur Preston Stout 2&1. Grehan squared the match by the sixth hole, moved ahead with an eagle-birdie sequence at the 12th and 13th, and closed it out with a par at the 17th. After facing Stout in all four matches during the competition, Grehan finished 2-1-1 against the American star, including two pivotal singles victories.
GB&I then swept the next three matches, with U.S. Amateur champion Jack Whaley overwhelming William Jennings 8&7, Luke Poulter defeating Ethan Feng 3&1 and Tyler Weaver beating Jay Leng Jr. 4&3. The surge gave the home team a 10-9 lead, though the Americans answered through Ryder Cowan and Josiah Gilbert. Two halved matches and Eliot Baker’s birdie on the 18th against Walker Cup veteran Stewart Hagestad kept GB&I within striking distance.
The decisive moment came in the final match. With the teams level in his contest against Tyler Watts, Josh Hill reached the par-5 18th needing a win to secure the Cup. After Watts found trouble off the tee, Hill hit his second into a greenside bunker and then played a brilliant recovery to five feet. Watts missed his long birdie attempt, and Hill converted the putt to complete the comeback. “It’s unbelievable,” Hill said. “Doesn’t get better than this.” Robertson called the performance a display of “grit,” “character” and “tenacity,” adding: “There’s a lot of emotion, a lot of happy tears. But pride, pride is the word I would use.”