US hangs on to retain Walker Cup

LONDON: The United States produced a commanding singles display to retain the Walker Cup with a 14-12 win over Great Britain and Ireland at Seminole Golf Club.

The Americans took a 7-5 lead into the final day but that advantage was halved in the morning foursomes.

Mark Power and John Murphy were 1-up winners against Pierceson Coody and John Pak, while Matty Lamb and Jack Dyer romped to a 6&5 victory over Stewart Hagestad and Tyler Strafaci.

With Angus Flanagan and Ben Schmidt claiming a half against Davis Thompson and Cole Hammer, GB&I closed to 8 ½-7 ½.However, they failed to carry that momentum into the afternoon singles.

Austin Eckroat thrashed Power 7&6 in the top match and Coody overcame Alex Fitzpatrick, with Barclay Brown putting a half on the board for GB&I against Quade Cummins.

Wins for Joe Long, Lamb and Flanagan kept GB&I in the contest but Ricky Costillo completed a perfect four points out of four with a 2&1 win over Murphy and Hammer beat Ben Schmidt 4&3 to get the US to the required 13 points.

And an outright win was confirmed for the hosts in Florida when Stewart Hagestad beat Ben Jones 4&2. With the result settled, Jack Dyer held on for a 1-up win over Strafaci on the final green.

GB&I captain Stuart Wilson told Sky Sports: “From our perspective we’ve maybe let the Americans get away with a bit too much, a few slack shots here and there. Hats off to the USA team for pulling the victory off.”