Ireland make history with Eisenhower bronze despite final hole hiccups
RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico – For a while it looked as though a series of final hole hiccups had turned what looked like a triumphal procession to a silver medal for Ireland into a stomach churning Mexican mix up.
But in the end Ireland's trio of Naas' Jack Hume (68), The Island's Paul McBride (73) and Tullamore and Maynooth University's Stuart Grehan (72) made history by winning Ireland's first medal in the men's World Amateur Team Championship, claiming a bronze after they finished tied third with Austria on 18 under par.
The men's team matches the women's team of Leona Maguire, Annabel Wilson and Olivia Mehaffey, who made history a week ago by claiming a first bronze medal at the same venue in the women's World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy.
It was an immense performance by Tony Goode's side and a fitting amateur swansong for Hume, who now turns professional and hopes to play some professional events on invitations as he prepares for November's Second Stage of Qualifying School where he is exempt as one of the top five available players in the top 15 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
"The lads were devastated for a while when they thought they weren't going to get a medal but we are really really happy," said Irish captain Goode after fast finishes by England and Austria and three dropped shots by Ireland on the tough 18th at Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club looked to have undone all their good work.
"To be honest, before we came out I would have settled for a top 10 finish. So we are very happy. The news we are getting bronze is great news.
"They lads showed great spirit, I can't praise them enough for the huge effort they put in. They gave it everything. They worked selflessly for the entire week. I am delighted for the boys and for [coach] Neil [Manchip]."
Australia's Cameron Davis (67 66 68 68), Curtis Luck, (69 71 63 68) and Harrison Endycott (68 66 73 73) romped to victory, winning by an incredible 19 strokes with a record-equalling 38 under par total of 534.
England were second on 19 under 553, sneaking past Ireland (554) and Austria when Alfie Plant birdied the 18th .
The boys in green never looked in danger of falling out of the silver medal position they held overnight — especially when Hume followed a bogey at the third with an incredible run of six successive birdies for an outward nine of 31.
With McBride and Grehan both shooting level on their front nines, a silver medal looked more than likely.
But they played the back nine in a combined five over par with Hume taking six at the 18th, where he drove into sand and then three putted from 30 feet for a three under 68 after Grehan (72) had also bogeyed the hole.
Plant's closing birdie helped England go into second place and three sensational closing birdies by Austria's Matthias Schwab (the runner up to Alan Dunbar in the 2012 Amateur Championship final) saw them move into a share of third with Ireland.
Mistakenly informed that they were to be beaten on a count back of all three cards for the bronze medal, Irish hopes appeared to rest on The Island's McBride getting a birdie at the last.
But while the talented Wake Forest star he hit a sensational shot to three feet, he missed the putt and posted a two over 73 that appeared to leave Ireland out of the medals.
However, close reading of the tournament conditions eased those fears and Ireland were quickly informed that a tie for third was in fact good enough for a bronze medal — the first by an Irish team in the Eisenhower Trophy since breaking from the Great Britain and Ireland team in 2002.
Had Ireland been denied a medal it would still have been a history-making performance as the previous best performance by an Irish trio was sixth place for Paul Cutler, Kevin Phelan and Alan Dunbar in Argentina in 2010.
The medal was a relief to Hume, who was handed a two stroke penalty in the second round when he discovered on his first hole the he had 15 clubs in his bag.
"We are delighted because we thought we were going to lose on a count back," Hume said. "We felt we could have finished in second place but a lot of things went against us this week.
"I had 15 clubs in my bag in the second round and it cost us two shots. Then on the 72nd hole we lost second place and looked like we were going to lose out on a medal as well, so we are all pleased."
Cameron Davis and Curtis Luck each shot 3-under 68s and Australia tied the 72-hole scoring record in winning their fourth World Amateur Team Championship by 19 strokes and the Eisenhower Trophy for the first time since 1996.
“It’s great for the game of golf back home,” said Australian captain Matt Cutler. “It started two years ago when the women won the Espirito Santo (Trophy). We got a taste of competing and winning internationally. They executed the plan perfectly this week. They had a determination to get it done.”
England won the silver medal at 553, behind a final-round 6-under 136 as Austria and Ireland shared the bronze, one stroke further back at 554.
Australia’s Davis, the lone player in the field to shoot all four rounds in the 60s despite the hot and humid conditions, turned in the lowest individual score at 17-under 269. Hume was tied 11th on seven under with McBride tied 20th and Grehan tied 48th.
England registered their best finish in a WATC after tying for sixth in 2006 and 2014.
Plant, who won the 2016 Lytham Trophy and was last year’s English Amateur runner-up, fired a 5-under 66 and holed a 9-foot birdie putt at the par-4 18th to vault his team into second place as Jamie Bower added a 1-under 70.
“Once I knew I had to make the putt for birdie, I just went through my routine to make sure you make the best putt you can, and it just went in,” said Plant, who made seven birdies on the day.
“It’s been a great week, we’ve recorded our highest finish in the event as a team, and I’m playing good golf as well. It’s great to get up on the stage for a medal.”
Added English captain Kevin Tucker, “We’re absolutely delighted, the good thing is that all three players have contributed twice. Alfie’s done a great job with the two low scores, and Jamie and Scott (Gregory) have both produced twice. It’s the first time England has medalled, we’re over the moon.”
Austria also earned a medal for the first time as their best performance was tie for fifth in 2002. Matthias Schwab, who is No. 5 in the WAGR, birdied the last three holes for a 4-under 67, while teammate Markus Maukner chipped in with a 70.
Schwab set up his birdie at No. 16 with a 7-iron, struck a 54-degree sand wedge to within 15 feet at the next hole and sank a 10-foot putt at No. 18.
“My two teammates had the same goals, just try to shoot the best they can,” said Schwab, who tied for third at this year’s NCAA Championship as a member of the Vanderbilt University team.
“Everyone brought their A game or close to their A game, and that’s reason enough for us to be in the top four. The goal is to make a medal or at least fight for one.”
The USA struggled to an even-par 142 and failed to medal in this championship for the first time since 1998 when the team was seventh.
Brad Dalke, last month’s U.S. Amateur runner-up, had a 70, while Stanford University All-American Maverick McNealy shot a 72. Scottie Scheffler, a junior at the University of Texas, posted a non-counting 73.
“It was a difficult day for all of them,” said USA captain Paul Caruso. “I guess it is unusual that that happens and all three of them did not have their best today.”
The 2018 World Amateur Team Championship will be played 5-8 Sept. at Carton House Golf Club in Maynooth.
For complete results, visit www.igfgolf.org.
2016 World Amateur Team Championship
Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club (I) Par-72, 6,988-yard/6,38-metre
Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club (M) Par-71, 6,771-yard/6,187-metre
1.Australia (AUS) - 135 I-132 M-131 I-136 M--534 (-38)
Cameron Davis 67-66-68-68--269
Curtis Luck 69-71-63-68--271
Harrison Endycott 68-66-73-73--280
2.England (ENG) - 139 M-141 I-137 I-136 M--553 (-19)
Alfie Plant 69-72-67-66--274
Scott Gregory 70-70-70-76--286
Jamie Bower 73-71-75-70--289
T3.Austria (AUT) - 139 M-140 I-138 I-137 M--554 (-18)
Matthias Schwab 67-72-69-67--275
Michael Ludwig 72-70-69-72--283
Markus Maukner 80-70-74-70--294
T3.Ireland (IRL) - 136 M-143 I-135 I-140 M--554 (-18)
Jack Hume 75-70-66-68--279
Paul McBride 66-73-69-73--281
Stuart Grehan 70-75-71-72--288
5.Norway (NOR) - 141 I-139 M-139 I-136 M--555 (-17)
Viktor Hovland 71-70-70-65--276
Kristoffer Ventura 70-69-69-71--279
Knud Krokeide 74-78-80-77--309
T6.New Zealand (NZL) - 143 M-138 I-138 I-138 M--557 (-15)
Luke Toomey 74-70-66-70--280
Nick Voke 69-68-72-72--281
Ryan Chisnall 75-74-76-68--293
T6.United States of America (USA) - 137 M-138 I-140 I-142 M--557 (-15)
Brad Dalke 67-72-72-70--281
Maverick McNealy 70-69-71-72--282
Scottie Scheffler 73-69-69-73--284
8.Poland (POL) - 138 I-139 M-140 I-141 M--558 (-14)
Adrian Meronk 66-69-70-69--274
Mateusz Gradecki 72-70-70-72--284
Jakub Dymecki 78-80-85-76--319
T9.Canada (CAN) - 144 I-140 M-136 I-140 M--560 (-12)
Garrett Rank 74-72-70-69--285
Jared du Toit 71-70-75-71--287
Hugo Bernard 73-70-66-NC--NC
T9.Spain (ESP) - 136 I-145 M-138 I-141 M--560 (-12)
Ivan Cantero 71-74-68-70--283
Manuel Elvira 69-71-70-73--283
Mario Galiano 67-74-76-71--288
11.Scotland (SCO) - 134 I-144 M-143 I-140 M--561 (-11)
Robert MacIntyre 69-71-72-71--283
Grant Forrest 68-73-71-74--286
Connor Syme 66-73-78-69--286
12.Germany (GER) - 147 I-137 M-140 I-138 M--562 (-10)
Max Schmitt 75-69-70-68--282
Hurly Long 76-68-70-70--284
Jeremy Paul 72-69-74-73--288
T13.Republic of Korea (KOR) - 145 M-139 I-141 I-138 M--563 (-9)
Sung ho Yun 73-66-69-66--274
Seung bo Jang 74-73-72-72--291
Je chang Ryu 72-75-73-79--299
T13.Sweden (SWE) - 139 M-142 I-142 I-140 M--563 (-9)
Fredrik Nilehn 68-71-71-69--279
Robin Petersson 71-71-74-71--287
Hannes Ronneblad 71-74-71-76--292
T13.Venezuela (VEN) - 143 M-143 I-141 I-136 M--563 (-9)
Jorge Garcia 69-68-71-68--276
Manuel Torres 76-75-70-73--294
George Trujillo 74-77-80-68--299
T16.France (FRA) - 139 I-142 M-142 I-141 M--564 (-8)
Ugo Coussaud 70-69-67-72--278
Jeremy Gandon 69-74-76-71--290
Antoine Rozner 73-73-75-70--291
T16.Mexico (MEX) - 141 M-140 I-141 I-142 M--564 (-8)
Alvaro Ortiz 74-65-72-71--282
Isidro Benitez 70-75-69-71--285
Luis Gerardo Garza 71-77-72-77--297
T16.Switzerland (SUI) - 139 I-137 M-144 I-144 M--564 (-8)
Mathias Eggenberger 71-69-73-73--286
Jeremy Freiburghaus 68-68-75-76--287
Marco Iten 72-76-71-71--290
T16.Thailand (THA) - 138 I-143 M-138 I-145 M--564 (-8)
Kousuke Hamamoto 69-71-69-70--279
Sadom Keawkanjana 69-72-69-75--285
Witchayanon Chothirunrungrueng 76-76-72-77--301
T16.Wales (WAL) - 144 M-143 I-140 I-137 M--564 (-8)
David Boote 69-73-68-67--277
Owen Edwards 76-70-72-73--291
Josh Davies 75-79-73-70--297
T21.Colombia (COL) - 142 I-138 M-145 I-141 M--566 (-6)
Nicolas Echavarria 72-68-72-68--280
Mateo Gomez Villegas 70-70-73-73--286
Santiago Gomez 72-76-74-73--295
T21.Denmark (DEN) - 143 M-139 I-140 I-144 M--566 (-6)
Marcus Helligkilde 73-67-68-71--279
John Axelsen 70-75-72-73--290
Peter Launer Baek 73-72-73-75--293
23.Singapore (SGP) - 146 M-135 I-147 I-140 M--568 (-4)
Joshua Ho 76-65-78-70--289
Gregory Foo 70-70-72-78--290
Joshua Shou 76-73-75-70--294
24.Japan (JPN) - 139 I-144 M-141 I-145 M--569 (-3)
Kazuki Higa 67-71-75-75--288
Takumi Kanaya 72-73-73-71--289
Junya Kameshiro 75-73-68-74--290
25.Iceland (ISL) - 141 M-142 I-143 I-144 M--570 (-2)
Gudmundur Kristjansson 70-72-71-69--282
Andri Bjornsson 71-75-74-75--295
Haraldur Magnus 76-70-72-80--298
26.Argentina (ARG) - 142 I-142 M-139 I-148 M--571 (-1)
Alejandro Tosti 71-68-67-74--280
Gaston Bertinotti 72-74-72-76--294
Andres Gallegos 71-75-79-74--299
T27.Chinese Taipei (TPE) - 140 M-140 I-147 I-147 M--574 (+2)
Chun-An Yu 70-67-73-79--289
Yu-Chen Yeh 70-73-74-74--291
Wei-Hsiang Wang 76-79-76-73--304
T27.Peru (PER) - 142 I-142 M-142 I-148 M--574 (+2)
Luis Fernando Barco 73-72-71-71--287
Felipe Strobach 72-70-71-78--291
Julian Perico 70-77-79-77--303
29.Netherlands (NED) - 145 M-138 I-144 I-148 M--575 (+3)
Vince van Veen 71-69-75-75--290
Lars van Meijel 74-73-70-73--290
Rowin Caron 81-69-74-77--301
30.Finland (FIN) - 141 M-151 I-145 M-140 I--577 (+5)
Kim Koivu 71-77-73-69--290
Juuso Kahlos 70-74-77-71--292
Ilari Saulo 75-77-72-72--296
T31.Chile (CHI) - 149 M-146 I-139 M-145 I--579 (+7)
Joaquin Niemann 71-73-71-69--284
Claudio Correa 78-73-68-76--295
Carlos Bustos 83-81-80-80--324
T31.India (IND) - 147 M-144 I-146 I-142 M--579 (+7)
Aalaap Indira Lakshminarayana 73-75-69-74--291
Arjun Prasad 74-71-78-68--291
Kshitij Naveed Kaul 76-73-77-78--304
T31.South Africa (RSA) - 141 M-144 I-148 I-146 M--579 (+7)
Jovan Rebula 70-70-76-77--293
Dylan Naidoo 75-74-72-73--294
Marco Steyn 71-74-79-73--297
T34.Brazil (BRA) - 143 M-142 I-148 I-148 M--581 (+9)
Daniel Kenji Ishii 73-72-73-72--290
Herik Machado 70-70-75-76--291
Gustavo Chuang 73-75-79-77--304
T34.Italy (ITA) - 141 M-145 I-150 I-145 M--581 (+9)
Guido Migliozzi 74-76-70-72--292
Stefano Mazzoli 67-71-89-73--300
Luca Cianchetti 75-74-80-73--302
T34.Morocco (MAR) - 140 M-148 I-145 I-148 M--581 (+9)
Ayoub Id-Omar 72-72-72-75--291
Yassine Touhami 68-76-76-77--297
Ayoub Lguirati 77-83-73-73--306
T34.Zimbabwe (ZIM) - 144 M-148 I-146 M-143 I--581 (+9)
Kieran Vincent 69-71-75-74--289
David Amm 75-79-81-69--304
Benjamin Follett-Smith 76-77-71-81--305
38.Uruguay (URU) - 145 I-152 M-141 M-145 I--583 (+11)
Juan Alvarez 68-72-71-75--286
Agustin Tarigo 77-82-70-70--299
Nicholas Teuten 77-80-79-80--316
T39.Ecuador (ECU) - 150 M-149 I-143 M-143 I--585 (+13)
Rafael Miranda 75-74-71-69--289
Jose Miranda 77-75-73-74--299
Juan Miguel Heredia 75-75-72-77--299
T39.Portugal (POR) - 140 M-144 I-158 I-143 M--585 (+13)
Tomas Silva 69-71-77-71--288
Pedro Lencart Silva 71-73-81-72--297
Vitor Londot Lopes 71-76-82-75--304
T41.Dominican Republic (DOM) - 139 M-155 I-145 M-148 I--587 (+15)
Juan Guerra 68-79-70-78--295
Rhadames Pena 71-79-76-74--300
Enrique Valverde 78-76-75-74--303
T41.Peoples Republic of China (CHN) - 146 I-147 M-148 M-146 I--587 (+15)
Zihong Zhang 71-84-70-74--299
Junbin Zhang 79-71-79-72--301
Yilong Chen 75-76-78-77--306
43.Hong Kong, China (HKG) - 148 M-144 I-142 M-154 I--588 (+16)
Terrence Ng 75-73-67-74--289
Matthew Cheung 74-71-75-81--301
Leon Philip D'Souza 74-77-77-80--308
T44.Czech Republic (CZE) - 142 M-152 I-147 M-148 I--589 (+17)
Vitek Novak 76-75-71-73--295
Simon Zach 69-77-76-75--297
Matyas Zapletal 73-77-76-78--304
T44.Puerto Rico (PUR) - 146 I-148 M-148 M-147 I--589 (+17)
Daniel Caban 71-74-74-75--294
Erick Juan Morales 75-74-74-76--299
Max Alverio 81-74-74-72--301
T46.Guam (GUM) - 146 M-152 I-145 M-149 I--592 (+20)
Devin Hua 71-74-72-72--289
Redge Camacho 75-78-73-77--303
Nalapon Vongjalorn 82-80-80-79--321
T46.Guatemala (GUA) - 146 M-145 I-146 I-155 M--592 (+20)
Sebastian Barnoya 79-71-71-76--297
Alejandro Villavicencio 72-74-75-81--302
Pablo Castellanos 74-82-85-79--320
48.Slovakia (SVK) - 149 M-148 I-147 M-154 I--598 (+26)
Adam Puchmelter 73-74-69-77--293
Michal Brezovsky 76-74-78-77--305
Jakub Hrinda 87-NC-NC-78--NC
49.Bermuda (BER) - 152 I-146 M-152 M-149 I--599 (+27)
Jarryd Dillas 77-74-73-73--297
Eric West 80-72-79-76--307
Mark Phillips 75-74-82-78--309
50.Belgium (BEL) - 152 M-152 I-150 M-148 I--602 (+30)
Adrien Dumont de Chassart 75-76-74-76--301
Alan De Bondt 77-76-76-73--302
Kristof Ulenaers 80-80-78-75--313
51.Croatia (CRO) - 156 I-143 M-158 M-149 I--606 (+34)
Ivan Vucemil 75-71-86-73--305
Luka Karaula 81-80-83-76--320
Adam Brnic 93-72-75-83--323
52.Egypt (EGY) - 151 I-156 M-154 M-147 I--608 (+36)
Issa Abouelela 71-74-70-75--290
Gougou Abdeltawab 91-82-84-85--342
Dean Naime 80-84-NC-72--NC
53.Turkey (TUR) - 151 I-150 M-152 M-156 I--609 (+37)
Ali Altuntas 71-75-73-75--294
Alihan Afsar 85-75-79-83--322
Leon Acikalin 80-80-82-81--323
54.Slovenia (SLO) - 149 M-156 I-154 M-151 I--610 (+38)
Zan Luka Stirn 74-75-79-77--305
Luka Naglic 78-81-79-74--312
Mark Trnovec 75-85-75-85--320
55.Jamaica (JAM) - 162 M-150 I-152 M-148 I--612 (+40)
Jonathan Newnham 84-77-79-74--314
Ian Facey 86-85-73-74--318
Sean Morris 78-73-87-85--323
56.Serbia (SRB) - 150 I-162 M-151 M-150 I--613 (+41)
Branimir Gudelj 73-79-81-75--308
Mihailo Dimitrijevic 77-84-76-75--312
Ranko Helc 80-83-75-77--315
57.Costa Rica (CRC) - 157 M-152 I-154 M-151 I--614 (+42)
Paul Chaplet 79-78-73-74--304
Jose Mendez 79-74-81-77--311
Manuel Jimenez 78-88-85-77--328
58.Panama (PAN) - 155 I-154 M-157 M-150 I--616 (+44)
Luis Cargiulo 83-72-85-74--314
Paolo Cargiulo 78-82-74-81--315
Jose Guillermo Lewis 77-83-83-76--319
59.Cayman Islands (CAY) - 156 I-153 M-159 M-159 I--627 (+55)
Michael Wight 74-80-79-78--311
Payten Wight 82-78-80-81--321
Andrew Jarvis 87-75-81-81--324
60.Qatar (QAT) - 153 M-159 I-153 M-164 I--629 (+57)
Saleh Al Kaabi 71-79-77-81--308
Ali Al Shahrani 82-81-76-85--324
Abdulrahman Al Shahrani 90-80-91-83--344
61.El Salvador (ESA) - 156 I-167 M-152 M-155 I--630 (+58)
Rodrigo Sol 78-81-75-76--310
Tino Flores 82-86-77-79--324
Bobby Moore 78-88-89-82--337
62.Kenya (KEN) - 158 I-155 M-165 M-159 I--637 (+65)
Sujan Shah 80-75-84-81--320
Bo Gatundu 78-83-83-78--322
Neer Chandaria 81-80-82-84--327
63.Greece (GRE) - 162 I-158 M-157 M-162 I--639 (+67)
Panagiotis Pantazopoulos 83-77-77-80--317
Dimitrios Rokadakis 79-81-80-82--322
Panagiotis Samakovlis 89-84-83-88--344
64.United Arab Emirates (UAE) - 158 I-160 M-161 M-161 I--640 (+68)
Saif Thabet 86-78-80-78--322
Ahmad Skaik 78-82-81-83--324
Rashid Hamood 80-89-81-88--338
65.Mauritius (MRI) - 160 I-158 M-155 M-168 I--641 (+69)
Rakesh Channoo 79-79-79-79--316
Phil Minkley 86-79-76-89--330
Ian Espitalier Noel 81-89-82-NC--NC
66.Bulgaria (BUL) - 161 I-170 M-159 M-155 I--645 (+73)
Vladi Marinov 85-84-75-76--320
Asen Mihaylov 77-87-88-79--331
Ryan Staykov 84-86-84-79--333
67.Republic of Moldova (MDA) - 165 I-162 M-165 M-166 I--658 (+86)
Aleksei Koika 79-77-76-77--309
Dennis Volostnykh 86-86-89-89--350
Artiom Podgainii 95-85-98-103--381
68.Malta (MLT) - 165 I-166 M-158 M-170 I--659 (+87)
Jay Jay Micallef 80-81-78-86--325
Andy Borg 85-85-80-84--334
Christian Brown 85-86-81-89--341
69.Haiti (HAI) - 176 I-167 M-178 M-179 I--700 (+128)
Jean-Philippe Mehu 81-77-82-83--323
Pierre-Antoine Donte 95-100-96-96--387
Maurice Pasha Brandt 99-90-108-NC--NC
70.Kazakhstan (KAZ) - 189 I-172 M-190 M-186 I--737 (+165)
Baurzhan Sarkytbayev 92-85-95-85--357
Yerbol Bukharbayev 103-94-100-101--398
Yerbolat Ospanov 97-87-95-NC--NC
71.Armenia (ARM) - 206 I-221 M-208 M-224 I--859 (+287)
Levon Karakhanyan 86-94-97-95--372
Karen Hovhannisyan 120-127-111-129--487
Irelands' previous finishes the in Men's World Amateur Team Championship (Eisenhower Trophy
2002 T28 Saujana Golf & Country Club (Palm and Bunga Raya Courses), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Colm Moriarty, Justin Kehoe, Noel Fox
2004 T16, Rio Mar Country Club (Ocean and River Courses), Rio Grande, Puerto Rico — Darren Crowe, Sean McTernan, Brian McElhinney
2006 T9, De Zalze Golf Club and Stellenbosch Golf Club, Stellenbosch, South Africa — Rory McIlroy, Gareth Shaw, Simon Ward
2008 22nd, Grange Golf Club (West Course) and Royal Adelaide Golf Club, Adelaide, Australia — Jonathan Caldwell, Shane Lowry, Paul Cutler.
2010 6th, Olivos Golf Club and Buenos Aires Golf Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina — Paul Cutler, Kevin Phelan, Alan Dunbar
2012 T27, Antalya Golf Club and Cornelia Golf Club, Antalya, Turkey — Kevin Phelan, Gavin Moynihan, Alan Dunbar
2014 11th, Karuizawa 72 East Golf Club – Iriyama and Oshitate Course, Japan — Gavin Moynihan, Paul Dunne, Gary Hurley
2016 T3, Riviera Maya, Mayakoba El Camaleón and Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club, Mexico — Jack Hume, Paul McBride, Stuart Grehan.