USA three from three at Walker Cup

BY Anthony Powter | World Amateur Mens Tour | 2009 Walker Cup | Day Two | 14 Sep 2009

The United States have won their third Walker Cup in a row with a 16½-9½ victory over Great Britain and Ireland at the Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania. The margin of victory was the largest for the Americans since a 18-6 win in 1997, at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, New York.

The USA went into the final day’s play with an 8-4 lead and they built on this advantage by winning three of the morning’s four foursome contests. The morning’s result left them needing just two points from the afternoon’s singles matches and though Scotland’s Gavin Dear accounted for Brian Harman 3&2 in the lead-off match, the Americans never looked as if they would loose sight of retaining the Walker Cup.

The next two matches would fall to the USA, with Rickie Fowler beating Matt Haines 2&1 and Peter Uihlein beating Stiggy Hodgson 3&1. With three of the afternoon’s 10 singles matches already won, the third victory in as many Walker Cups had fallen to the USA.

Morgan Hoffman ensured the USA’s lead grew further as he accounted for Wallace Booth one-up in the fourth completed match. Cameron Tringale then demolished Luke Goddard 8&6, although Great Britain and Ireland secured three further single matches as Sam Hutsby and Tommy Fleetwood won 1-up against Adam Mitchell and Drew Weaver respectively. Niall Kearney from GB&I also secured his match against Nathan Smith 3&2, while Chris Paisley took half a point from Bud Cauley.

Brendan Gielow from the USA won the final singles match, beating Dale Whitnell 4&3.

It had been a seven-point humiliation for Great Britain & Ireland, who were unlucky to lose three of their best amateurs to the professional ranks just before this Walker Cup. Chris Wood, Shane Lowry and Callum Macaulay all decided to go professional rather than remain amateur for the Walker Cup. That same twist of fate occurred for the GB&I team two years ago in Northern Ireland. Speculation following this afternoon’s result was ripe about what impact losing these players had had in GB&I’s defeat at Merion.

During the post-match media conference Great Britain & Ireland’s team captain, Colin Dalgleish, was trying to play down the team selection procedure and the issue about top UK amateurs moving too early into the professional ranks.

“The selection thing, I don’t think there’s really any issues with regard to that,” said Dalgleish.

“I think our policy is they are trying to identify the ten players that we think will best play a particular venue under the particular pressure of a Walker Cup. I think that the guys that are here have been recognised performers in Great Britain and they have won in different parts of the world and so on. I don’t think that I would see any rush to change our particular selection procedure and policy.”

The best player at this year’s Walker Cup was Rickie Fowler with the world number 1 amateur winning all four of his matches. The 20-year-old American played in the 2007 Walker Cup and had plenty of inducements to turn professional since, but unlike many of the top UK amateurs, Fowler had decided that he wanted to try finish with a Walker Cup victory on home soil.

“We had not won in a while, so that was a pretty big thing for us to go out and get the Cup there,” said Fowler about the USA’s last win in Northern Ireland in 2007.

“And then here, the whole reason I stayed amateur was to come back and play another, and to play it on our home court and being able to have everyone over here you know, to win tops it off.”

You have to go back to 1995 to find the last time a team came back to win after losing three of the four opening round of foursomes. This was the predicament the Great Britain & Ireland team found themselves in after yesterday’s opening round.

Sunday foursomes rounds fared no better for the GB&I team, again loosing three from four of the morning matches to the USA. For the best part of this Walker Cup the GB&I team had struggled to gain any momentum against the Americans in the foursome matches and it had certainly damaged their chances for victory.

“I knew that obviously we needed 2 1/2 points to win outright,” remarked Buddy Marucci, the USA team captain.

“You know, I just thought that there was just too much talent in ten people not to be able to get 2 1/2 points. I’m glad it wasn’t closer than that. I thought GB&I played great in the afternoon. I mean, it has to get to a point where both sides get worn out a little bit. So I was quietly confident but certainly I was aware that things could turn around pretty quickly. It was my goal to just get them as comfortable and, you know, I think it worked out.”

The United States, who edged Britain & Ireland by a point at Royal County Down in Newcastle, Northern Ireland two years ago, lead the series 34-7-1.