Great Britain & Ireland (GBI) won 7 of 10 available singles points in the final session of the 51st Walker Cup to defeat the United States (U.S.) Team 13 ½ – 12 ½.
The U.S. swept all four alternate-shot morning matches at Lahinch Golf Club to take a three-point advantage before the afternoon singles. The morning session was dominated by the U.S. squad, and it appeared they would sweep the afternoon singles session. The U.S. has won the last five Walker Cups.
It was a typical summer Irish day for golf on Sunday with a mixture of wind and rain on the west coast of County Clare along the scenic Wild Atlantic Way. It sits right beside Liscannor Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, roughly 10 km from the famous Cliffs of Moher.
It seemed the weather would favor the GB&I team but the Americans were dominate in the morning session. That changed rapidly in the afternoon single matches.
Lahinch Golf Club’s Old Course was originally laid out in 1892 by founding members and later designed and refined by legendary architects Old Tom Morris in 1894, Dr. Alister MacKenzie in 1927, and updated by Martin Hawtree in 2003. It was a stunning test of golf.
U.S. Amateur Champion Jack Whaley got GB&I’s comeback effort off to a strong start when he beat William Jennings like a rented mule with a knotted plow line 8 and 7 to reduce the deficit to two points. In doing so, he equaled the second largest margin of victory in a singles match in the Walker Cup.
From that point on the leader board turned GB&I blue as they nearly swept the singles matches.
During the Sunday singles session, Ryder Cowan and Josiah Gilbert were the only players on the U.S. side to win their full singles matches.
It was not all peaches and cream. The 51st Walker Cup came down to the final match between GB&I’s Josh Hill and Tyler Watts from the U.S. on the 18th green. Hill hit a marvelous bunker shot to 3 feet. Watts missed from 18 feet for a tie to retain the Cup. Hill rolled his putt to the bottom of the cup and GB&I were victorious.
The level of play by both teams was stunning, especially given the weather conditions and pressure. The rise of the GB&I team may well be attributed to the fact that so many of the players are now playing for college teams in the United States where the level of competition is fierce.
Josh Hill played for Tennessee, Luke Poulter- University of Florida, Niall Sheils Donegan- University of North Carolina, and Tyler Weaver- Florida State.
Congratulations to the GB&I team on their victory and to the U.S. Walker Cup players who put up a good fight. For many of the players it won’t be their last Walker Cup, for some it will be their last before going on to professional golf. For all, it will be a memory that will last a lifetime, for us as well.
The Walker Cup will be played September 9 – 10 2028 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon.
The 2026 Solheim Cup starts this week. The 20th Solheim Cup takes place from September 11 to 13, 2026, at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt, Netherlands.
Event Schedule:
- Thursday, September 10: Practice rounds and Opening Ceremony.
- Friday, September 11: Day 1 (Foursomes and Fourball matches)
- Saturday, September 12: Day 2 (Foursomes and Fourball matches)
- Sunday, September 13: Final Day (Singles matches and Closing Ceremony).
Look for coverage on the Golf Channel.
Mark your calendar The President Cup starts September 22 – 27 at Medinah Country Club. We’ll preview the event next week.
Enjoy your golf.
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