Walker Cup: USA Comeback and Takes Lead vs. Great Britain in Singles

United States Takes the Lead Over Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell shined on both par-3s along the ocean at Cypress Point to close out his match, and Jace Summy won twice on Saturday. The Americans rallied in singles to build a 6 1/2-5 1/2 lead over Great Britain & Ireland after the first day of the Walker Cup. Howell, 18, a high school senior in Georgia, earned his spot on the U.S. team by winning the U.S. Amateur last month at the Olympic Club. He stayed on the sidelines during the morning foursomes session, when GB&I built a 3-1 lead, and felt the nerves in the afternoon singles, but only briefly. Howell was 1 up on Luke Poulter, the young Floridian and son of Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter, when he birdied the short par-3 15th along the ocean, and then holed a 45-foot birdie putt on the iconic 16th, which requires a tee shot over the ocean, to close out the match.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t super nervous on the first tee,” Howell said. “But no, what a day. What a beautiful day here. It’s been incredible.”

Mason Howell

United States amateur champion Mason Howell contributed to the United States’ 6 1/2-5 1/2 lead over Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup thanks to a singles victory over Luke Poulter. The famous marine layer over the Monterey Peninsula lifted after the morning session, providing majestic views of Cypress Point, one of the most picturesque golf courses. And the stars were present for this Walker Cup, which returns to Cypress for the first time since 1981. Hal Sutton, who played in those ’81 matches, was on the course. Also present were Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Kuchar, and Juli Inkster, a three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion. It was a great opening day, with GB&I renewing hopes of winning on US soil for the first time in 24 years, winning three of the four alternate shot matches. Connor Graham partnered with Tyler Weaver to win three holes in a row on the back nine, as they defeated top-ranked amateur Jackson Koivun and Tommy Morrison on the 17th hole. Graham also won two matches for GB&I, defeating Ben James in singles. Stuart Grehan and Eliot Baker held on to win on the 18th hole against Preston Stout and Ethan Fang. But those same two GB&I players were within a fraction of an inch of avoiding the American comeback in singles. Grehan had a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole against Ethan Fang, only for the putt to graze the right edge of the cup, as they settled for a tie. In the final match, Baker was tied with Summy and in trouble left of the tee and left of the green. He chipped to 12 feet and had to make that when Summy two-putted for par. His putt for par looked good until it veered off at the last moment.

“We knew we had to have a good session and they delivered,” said United States captain Nathan Smith about his teams who won five of the eight singles matches and tied another.

Nathan Smith

Americans have won the last four times (it was in St. Andrews in 2023) and have dominated the series since it began in 1924. GB&I’s last away win was at Ocean Forest on the coast of Georgia in 2001. Niall Shiels Donegan, the Scot who grew up in San Francisco, had another section of cheerleaders when he defeated Jacob Modleski for the second time: he also defeated Modleski in 19 holes in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur. Shiels Donegan glanced at a leaderboard at the start of the back nine and saw it was filled with American beatdowns. Koivun defeated Weaver, 4 and 3. Stewart Hagestad and Stout closed out their matches on the 13th hole. Shiels Donegan and Graham did their part by earning points and keeping GB&I close. “I saw the table to the left of 11 as I was walking and saw that we weren’t performing as well as possible in singles,” said Shiels Donegan. “I think for me in that situation I felt a little bit more like I have to do my job, let’s really focus on doing my job, getting any points for the team and seeing what we can do the rest of the week.” The final session on Sunday has four foursomes matches in the morning, followed by the 10 players competing in singles.