Opening Golf to the World
Walker Cup
Great Britain and Ireland win the 51st Walker Cup at Lahinch
06 Sep 26
8 mins
Great Britain and Ireland have won the 51st Walker Cup after a thrilling weekend at Lahinch.
Josh Hill rolled home the winning putt as Dean Robertson’s team were victorious in the match for the first time since 2015. Huge celebrations were witnessed on the 18th green as the home side closed out a 13½ - 12½ triumph in dramatic fashion. Speaking after securing the decisive point, Hill said, “This is absolutely unbelievable. It doesn’t get better than this.” Captain Dean Robertson added, “I believed in the team the whole time. They worked so hard. They played so well.” This is just the tenth time GB&I have won the Walker Cup.Walker Cup
Walker Cup | Day Two Highlights
15 mins
Ahead of the match, Robertson's message to the team was to enjoy the occasion.
"That was one message I had to the team this week, to walk slowly to take it all in because it's going to pass in a flash. It did pass in a flash. But the last two years also passed in a flash," he said.
“We are so elated. We're hardly able to put it into words. There's a lot of emotion, a lot of happy tears. But pride, pride is the word I would use to describe this.
“There was most definitely a belief in the players and even though we were swept 4-0 this morning, there wasn't a despondency. The American team were outstanding this morning. The quality of the golf was sensational. It really was and you've really just got to tip your cap and say well played.
“When we came in at lunch time I had to change the order and we had to bring some energy so that we could feed off of that. Stuart Grehan, he brought the energy, as did Luke Poulter, Jack Whaley, and Tyler Weaver. They kind of started to kind of grow from there. And then Josh Hill produced a Matt Fitzpatrick bunker shot at the last and holed it and we've got the Walker Cup.
“The boys have delivered and I am incredibly proud of each and every one of them."
USA Captain Nathan Smith was proud of his team despite the late defeat.
“The match was incredible," he said. "It was definitely a tale of two days with what happened this morning and going forward now and how they played this afternoon.
“We knew how great their team was. They're a great team. They're a deep team. We knew they were capable of anything. Really at no time did we take the foot off the accelerator. But they played great. All you can do is really tip your cap to them. They played great.”
Trailing 9½-6½ going into this afternoon’s singles session, Robertson’s side conjured up a comeback for the ages which culminated in Hill securing the winning point on the 18th hole with the last putt of the match.
The USA swept the morning foursomes 4-0 for the first time since the 2007 match at Royal County Down to cruise into a 9½-6½ lead before this afternoon’s singles.
World number one Preston Stout and Ethan Fang got the better of home favourite Stuart Grehan and Eliot Baker by a 3&2 margin, highlighted by an eagle two at the par-4 13th.
With the scoreboard turning red in favour of the visitors, Kihei Akina and Jay Leng Jr edged the USA in front in the match overall with a resounding 4&3 defeat of Luke Poulter and Sam Easterbrook, before William Jennings and Ryder Cowan dominated their encounter with Niall Sheils Donegan and Josh Hill to win by the same margin.
This morning’s complete dominance by the USA was confirmed shortly after thanks to Miles Russell and Tyler Watts beating Tyler Weaver and Connor Graham 3&2.
In the singles, US Amateur Champion Jack Whaley got GB&I’s comeback effort off to a flying start when he blew away William Jennings 8&7 to reduce the deficit to two points. In doing so he equalled the second largest margin of victory in a singles match in the Walker Cup.
Grehan, the lone Irishman in Robertson’s side, then delighted the home galleries by coming back from two holes down against Stout to win 2&1 in the top match of the draw before Poulter drew the sides level at 9½-9½ by defeating Fang 3&1.
Home hopes rose further when Weaver edged GB&I back in front in the match with a convincing 4&3 scoreline against Leng Jr while Sheils Donegan kept his composure at the last to secure a vital half against Akina after the American missed a putt to win the match from close range.
The USA responded shortly after when Josiah Gilbert defeated Sam Easterbrook 4&3. Baker then claimed another point for the hosts when he birdied the last against Walker Cup veteran Stewart Hagestad to win by one hole before Cowan looked to have put the visitors in a commanding position as the match headed towards its conclusion with a 3&2 defeat of Ben Bolton.
With only two matches left out on the course, the USA only needed a point to retain the trophy while GB&I needed one-and-a-half points to win the match outright.
Graham secured an important half point in his match against Russell, coming back from three down at the 11th, to win the last with a birdie and leave Hill requiring a point against Watts in the last match on course.
The Englishman found the greenside bunker with his approach but dug deep to produce a wonderful recovery which left him a three-foot putt. With Watts unable to convert his birdie chance from long range, Hill calmly holed out to delight the thousands of fans thronging around the 18th arena and set off celebrations which will go late into the night.
View all the best images from day two at the 51st Walker Cup below.
The Walker Cup 2026 Practice Days gallery
1 / 25