Opening Golf to the World
Walker Cup
GB&I Captain Robertson says Walker Cup opener is 'finest day in golf'
05 Sep 26
8 mins
Dean Robertson rates Saturday at the 51st Walker Cup as the finest day of golf he has been involved in.
The Great Britain and Ireland Captain watched on with pride as his side battled to a narrow 6½-5½ lead over a United States of America team brimming with talent at Lahinch. The home side rallied late in the singles session as they bid to win the match for the first time since 2015. GB&I enjoyed vocal backing from the majority of the 8,000-strong crowd at the iconic County Clare links and, speaking afterwards, Robertson said he was left in awe at the spectacle. “I think that’s probably the finest day of golf I’ve ever been involved in. The Walker Cup has just been an amazing showcase of what the game is all about in its purest form,” Robertson said. “I was following different matches, but the noise out there was like an Open Championship. It really was. It was fantastic.” While Robertson is pleased to see his side lead, he knows his players will have to be at the top of their game if they are to win GB&I a first Walker Cup since 2015. “Last year we had the great foursomes session in the morning at Cypress and got turned over,” he added. “So we're under no illusions. It's going to be extremely challenging. But I think the weather is going to play a factor as well tomorrow, so everybody will have to be on their mettle and it's going to be a tough day.”
Great Britain and Ireland hold the lead after the opening day.
USA captain Nathan Smith is comfortable with where his team are positioned going into a pivotal Sunday, and feels he has the firepower to retain the Walker Cup.
“We need to come out, play well in the morning session and then you got ten points [to play for] in the afternoon,” he said.
“We feel good about how we played today. There was some great golf out there and we still feel good about a lot of our pairings. We'll be ready to go tomorrow.”
Niall Sheils Donegan was the stand-out performer for the hosts, earning two points from his two matches while Ethan Fang delivered 1½ points for the USA.
Amateur Champion Stuart Grehan also picked up 1½ points on the opening day, and the moment he sealed his singles victory over the world’s top-ranked amateur golfer will live long in the memory of those who witnessed it.
Grehan had come back from three down after five holes, and then two down with three to play, before rolling in a putt of around 15ft on the 18th hole to claim the first point of the afternoon singles session, and the place went wild.
“That was a loud roar and it's something I kind of wanted to kind of do and experience,” Grehan said.
“It was quite overwhelming actually, but it was really special.”
Sheils Donegan, who was in the thick of his own contest with Tyler Watts, a match he won 3&2, said the roars from the moment Grehan’s winning putt dropped could be heard reverberating around the course.
After trailing early in the match, the Scot turned things around in the back nine and says he was buoyed by the noise from up ahead.
“You can really tell when there is something going on ahead of you,” he said.
“We’re walking down 13 and you just hear the biggest roar of your life over on 18. I go to my caddie, ‘I think Stuart just won that’.
“I think it is amazing to hear those cheers from across the golf course. It just gives you that little extra boost of energy when you might be a little bit down, or you just want a little bit extra momentum.”
After Grehan claimed the first singles point of the afternoon for GB&I, the visitors bounced back quickly and secured three points in succession thanks to Fang winning by one hole over Jack Whaley, Jay Leng Jr defeating Tyler Weaver 2&1 and William Jennings also edging out Connor Graham by one hole to take the lead in the match for the first time at 4½-3½.
Stewart Hagestad extended his remarkable singles record in the Walker Cup to notch up his eighth win out of nine singles matches by overcoming Ben Bolton 2&1.
Despite the two-point deficit, GB&I rallied to secure the final three points of the session and lead the match overall at 6½-5½. After Sheils Donegan won his point, Eliot Baker followed up with a victory by the same margin against Josiah Gilbert before Luke Poulter rounded proceedings off by beating Miles Russell 2&1.
Stewart Hagestad continued his remarkable record in Walker Cup singles.
GB&I took a 2½-1½ lead into the afternoon after a closely contested opening foursomes session.
Three of the four matches went the distance with Sheils Donegan and Josh Hill delivering the most convincing performance of the morning for the hosts, defeating Gilbert and Ryder Cowan 4&3 in the bottom match of the draw.
Grehan and Baker gained a half point for GB&I against world number one Stout and Fang before Graham and Weaver secured a full point with a one-hole victory over Leng Jr and Akina.
Poulter and Sam Easterbrook produced a determined fightback against Russell and Watts, recovering from three down after the 10th to draw level by winning the 12th, 13th and 17th holes, but Russell responded at the last, holing a clutch birdie putt to secure the point for the USA.
The draw for Sunday morning foursomes is available here.
You can view the best images from the opening day of the 2026 Walker Cup below.
The Walker Cup 2026 Practice Days gallery
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