By Jason Bruno
Monterey, California – Just six weeks ago at Walker Cup media day at Cypress Point, Team USA Captain Nathan Smith spoke about how grateful he was to be selected as the Walker Cup Captain at a venue he considers to be the best in the world. He called it a dream come true… but also noted his desire to lead his squad to victory. On Sunday, Smith realized his dream when the red, white & blue won the 50th Walker Cup 17-9 over the squad from Great Britain & Ireland.
The early session on day 2 finished as it started at Cypress Point, with the Stars and Stripes finishing the foursomes matches with the same 1 point lead it had at the outset. Koivun and Morrison held serve, while Poulter and Forster kept the board from being all red in the first 3 matches. Cameron Adam and Niall Shiels Donegan hung on in the anchor match after being up 5 midway into the back 9. They closed out Jase Summy and Michael LaSasso 2up on the 17th green.
As the day turned to singles, the teams were separated by a single point, it was all up for grabs.
Singles:
Team USA didn’t waste any time taking control, and a few hours in, it wasn’t a matter of if, but when the winning point would be put on the board for Team USA. When it mattered most, it came down to the oldest player on the team, 34-year-old Walker Cup veteran Stewart Hagestad, who clinched the cup-retaining point with a 20ft left-to-right breaking putt on the par-3 fifteenth to ensure that the hardware would remain stateside. Hagestad, a three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, was competing in his fifth Walker Cup and is 7-1 overall in singles play. All five teams that Hagestad has played on have won the Walker Cup.
Overall, 13 of Team USA’s 17 points came from the singles format at Cypress Point 5.5 on Saturday, and 8.5 on Sunday). The domination in the singles format was historical; in fact, it was the largest margin of victory in a final session (8-1-1), surpassing the two 8-2 marks in 2017 and 2019.
The crowd erupts as Stewart Hagestad secures the cup retaining point on the 15th green at Cypress Point.
World no.1 Jackson Koivun led off with a resounding 3 & 2 victory over the best player on GB&I, Tyler Weaver, and just like that the flood gates were open. Team USA didn’t lose a match in the first eight singles contests on Sunday afternoon. Tommy Morrison, Ethan Fang, Ben James, Jase Summy and Jacob Modleski each won their matches. Gavin Tiernan, of Ireland, had the lone singles victory for GB&I, he defeated Michael La Sasso, 2 and 1.
“I’m just blown away,” said USA captain Nathan Smith. “They showed up all weekend, in both singles matches in the afternoon, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Walker Cup team bring it like they did this afternoon in singles.”
GB&I Captain Dean Robertson was gracious in defeat, “We came here with a focus to raise our standard, to emulate what’s only been done twice in 100 years, which is to beat the U.S. [on the road],” said Robertson. “But Nathan’s team, big congratulations to them. They’ve played fantastic.
“We were in it. We fought hard. Our foursomes performances were exceptional. But for a few putts, I think the big difference for us is we need to be better putters.”
The USA has now won five consecutive Walker Cups since its defeat at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2015, and owns a 40-9-1 overall mark. GB&I has only won twice on American soil, in 1989 and 2001.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the true star of the week – Cypress Point Club. The iconic beauty that annually ranks among the top 3 in the worldgave us a bit of everything: thrills, intrigue, challenge, and drama. The club and its staff did a magnificent job of polishing the jewel that founders Marion Hollins, Samuel Morse and Alister MacKenzie created. The USGA and R&A did everything right, as did Mother Nature. The 50th Walker Cup was as good as it gets in our game. It had been 44 years since the Walker Cup visited Cypress Point, and hopefully, it won’t be another 44 years before it returns. The 2026 matches will be at Lahinch in Ireland.
