It has been 11 long years in the waiting but the Walker Cup is back in GB & I hands after the home team’s stunning come-from-behind one point victory in the very last match at Lahinch on the west coast of Ireland.
GB & I winning 13 1/ to USA 12 1/2 in the 51st hosting of the Walker Cup.
The GB & I team rallied from an almost uncertainty to capture the championship for a first occasion since 2015.
Securing the precious one point victory was England’s Josh Hill who was all-square with USA rival Tyler Watts heading down the last until the sheer delight for the majority watching on when Hill holed his four foot birdie putt to secure victory.
Helping steer the ‘home’ side to success was the Sunday Singles efforts of GB & Is first four players in Stuart Graham, Luke Poulter, Jack Whaley and Tyler Weaver winning their respective matches 2 & 1, 3 & 1, 8 & 7 and 4 & 3.
The four went out first in the scheduled last round of 10 matches.
Earlier GB & I headed into Sunday leading by just one point but losing all four Sunday morning Foursome encounters to be down 9 1/2 to 6 1/2.
That all changed thanks to four GB & I wins in the first four Singles encounters turning the score around for GB & I to go one clear at 10 1/2 and from there the Dean Robertson led team were not going to be denied and this despite the apparent negativity eminating from TV coverage of the event that GB & I would pull-up shy of success.
Yes, the USA easily won the seventh and also the last two matches very comfortably while Niall Sheils Donegan halved his match for the score to be 12 1/2 apiece and one match still to be completed.
That match was match 8 of 10 and Hill, as mentioned above, throwing his right arm skyward in holing his four-footer birdie to deliver Dean Robertson’s men a remarkable and stunning success.
The moment Great Britain and Ireland became the 51st Walker Cup winners pic.twitter.com/F3G8f1uvRO
— The Walker Cup (@WalkerCup) September 6, 2026
And was a celebration it now promises for Robertson’s men tonight in Lahinch and in the days, weeks and months ahead.
One award that could be heading the team’s way is the prestigious Association of Golf Writers ‘Golfer/Team of the Year’ honour.
