USA Comes Back To Win The Walker Cup
The 49th playing and ninth time in St Andrews is a classic won by the United States 14.5 to 11.5. A full roundup from the Old Course.
USA’s clinching point arrived like checked luggage over here: better late than never.
At 6:17 p.m. Sunday under warm and sunny St Andrews skies, David Ford sealed the United States’ impressive comeback at the 49th Walker Cup. The lefthander’s fifth birdie putt in six holes defeated GB&I’s Alex Maguire and sent the 100-year-old trophy home with the victorious squad.
Down one point heading to Sunday’s singles matches, USA chipped away at GB&I’s biggest first day lead since 1965. The effort started with a bit of Saturday night Old Course Hotel team room soul-searching over how to construct the Sunday lineup down three points. Captain Mike McCoy’s squad went out to take a 3 to 1 session win despite stiff westerly breezes that should, theoretically, have favored the home team.
“We all got around the table, and I asked everybody some pretty straightforward questions, was there anybody hurt, anybody feeling bad, because we were trying to figure out our morning session,” said McCoy after Sunday’s 14.5 to 11.5 win.
“Our leader in the room was Stewart [Hagestad] and he stepped up and just said, ‘look, I'm not a great foursomes player, so I'm going to sit.’ That was pretty gracious on his part because he had won the match -- I was planning on using him because he was playing so well.”
Instead, McCoy put two of USA’s best players in the alternate shot format in hopes of guaranteeing a point. It almost backfired. Gordon Sargent and Nick Dunlap went out second, gave back two key back nine holes and took all 18 holes to finally hold off Scotland’s energetic and equally fast-playing duo of Calum Scott and 16-year-old wunderkind Connor Graham.
“We gave our national amateur champion and our McCormack Medal [Sargent] a chance to go out there and get that point,” McCoy said. “We took a chance. We knew we needed a good morning to get back in the match.”
He added, “The guys really demanded it, frankly. They didn't want people out there playing just to get their turn. They wanted the best teams on the golf course.”
Hagestad got his wish to sit in foursomes but held off Graham in an afternoon showdown between the oldest and tallest competitor against this Walker Cup’s youngest and, still-growing player.
As for the more “adverse” conditions, also known as a “proper” wind in St Andrews, McCoy said he was confident his team could handle an Old Course featuring gusts hitting 35 m.p.h. in the morning.
“You're playing these guys who are probably a little more familiar with the golf course,” he said. “But our guys play in a lot of wind. It blows in America, too. I felt like we might have an edge if it really came down to some certain skills. Not a big edge, but I was confident that these guys could play in any conditions.
“Happy we got it done.”
The final results:
Also:
Stewart Hagestad is the first player since Jay Sigel (1977-87) to play on four consecutive winning Walker Cup teams. The 32-year-old from Newport Beach, California is the 16th player overall to play on four winning teams.
Gordon Sargent was the only player to go 4-0.
The USA performance Sunday was the second largest second-day comeback since 1965.
It was the fourth consecutive win for the USA and they now lead the overall series 39-9-1.
The 50th Walker Cup will be held at Cypress Point Club, Sept. 5-6, 2025
“How good is this?”. Allan Tulleth had Nathan Kimsey’s bag on the DP World Tour until the Englishman went down with an injury. So he returned to St Andrews earlier this year and looped on the Old Course at times before Kimsey’s recent comeback. But Tulleth made clear, that if selected by the Walker Cup, he would be at the event as a caddie.
Not only was he selected to be one of twenty caddies to work this week, but Tulleth drew Gordon Sargent’s bag. Within a matter of days Tulleth was aggressively guiding Sargent around the Old Course and even assertively issuing last second reminders before Sargent’s massive tee shots.
“It’s definitely something I value in the caddie in helping commitment levels and if the more we can talk to the shot the better,” Sargent said after Saturday’s singles win. “And Alan's done a really good job of not kind of overthinking it, but also just making sure I'm thinking about the right things before shot.”
For Tulleth, the week was the thrill of a lifetime even if, as a Scotsman, he was working for the other side.
“I love my amateur golf,” Tulleth said. “I think Gordon's brilliant. If he keeps his feet on the ground, which I know he's got a great team around him at home, I expect big things to happen.”
Tulleth knew of Sargent’s game before the week and saw the 20-year-old evolve over the Old Course.
“He was good this morning (in Saturday foursomes) and then this afternoon I’ve seen a completely different player mentally. He is just one of a kind.”
Sunday in Sargent’s foursomes match alongside Nick Dunlap and Scottish heroes Scott and Graham, Tulleth took an even more assertive role when strong winds from an odd West/Southwest direction made meticulous pre-shot decisions imperative. Given how fast Sargent and Dunlap pull the trigger, Tulleth’s knowledge of the Old Course and quick confidence as a veteran professional tour caddie paid off during a 1 up win sealed by a final hole birdie.
Following the congratulatory handshakes between players and caddies, Tulleth gathered Sargent’s bag, turned to two media members descending on his boss this week for post round comments, and smiled.
“How good is this?
Chop, chop. In a tragic bit of planning or some cruel joke by the Golf Gods to prepare us for the upcoming Solheim and Ryder Cup four-ball slogs, the opening foursomes match Sunday held up the other three matches. The match pitted USA’s Caleb Surratt and Ben James against GB&I’s John Gough and Matthew McClean. They took just under two hours to complete the front nine before closing things out at the 17th, three hours and forty-six minutes later. This, despite each team playing only one ball and with one player able to walk ahead for the next shot. Yet they still held up the other three matches who bunched behind the snail pace.
Future Muirfield members, they are not.
Hope For The Future (Of Fast Play). The two slowest players of the matches were mid-amateurs Stewart Hagestad (USA) and Matthew McClean (GB&I). The fastest play came from the 20 and under set (Sargent, Dunlap, Graham and Scott). The latter four, plus 22-year-old Dylan Menante sometimes play so fast that cameramen and volunteers are often not ready.
How slow were Hagestad and McClean compared to the rest?
At some point Sunday wee Connor Graham reportedly turned 27, learned to shave, and even sprouted his first grey hair watching his elders.
Thankfully, the future of playing golf at a fast clip looks promising.
Hope For The Future, Part II. Graham stole the show based on fan reactions that ranged from awe to awwwwwwww. The Jordan Spieth mini-me from Blairgowie, Scotland became the youngest Walker Cup participant ever. Looking not a day older than 14, Graham is back to school tomorrow but the adorably twitchy and earnest lad will surface again this month in the Junior Ryder Cup. Based on his incredible game, he’ll be at plenty of big tournaments down the road.
Out and about. Martin Slumbers and Mike Whan, The R&A and USGA CEO’s, were busy spectators Sunday morning. Former Walker Cup participant and U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate was also in attendance, as was former USGA President Walter Driver.
The Old Course Shines. Real match play’s return to the grandest stage of all lived up to all expectations. Besides the intricate design that really needs match play to highlight its risks and rewards, a fantastic setup and cooperative conditions took things to a level a stroke play event here can never quite capture.