Walker Cup: US takes 8-4 lead into final day
Paul McBride (GB&I) reacts after playing his second shot on the 16th hole during foursomes at the 2017 Walker Cup at The Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Island's Paul McBride mounted a brave back nine comeback but fell 3 and 2 to Collin Morikawa as the USA took an 8-4 lead into the final day of the Walker Cup at The Los Angeles Country Club.
The 21-year old Wake Forest senior from won his morning foursomes alongside Connor Syme to help Great Britain and Ireland share the session 2-2.
But the home side won the singles session 6-2 to take a commanding four-point lead into Sunday's final foursomes (four) and singles (10) sessions.
For a brief moment on Saturday afternoon, it appeared the USA might be facing a deficit going into final day of the 46th Walker Cup match.
But Captain John “Spider” Miller watched several of his competitors flip the proverbial switch in the latter part of their singles matches to give the Americans an 8-4 lead.
Reigning NCAA champion Braden Thornberry, 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Will Zalatoris and world No. 2 Maverick McNealy, all rallied late for key victories, putting the Americans in prime position to reclaim the Cup.
Paul McBride (GB&I) plays his tee shot on the 15th hole during foursomes at the 2017 Walker Cup at The Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)
“I would say to the team and these guys know it, we’re preparing as if we were even or down,” said Miller. “We’re not thinking ahead of ourselves. We have matches to play [Sunday] morning … and we have to be at our best and we have to fight for every point.”
In each of the last two USA victories – 2013 and 2009, the USA led by the same 8-4 score after Day 1. The side needs 5½ of the possible 14 points on Sunday – four from morning foursomes (alternate shot) matches and 10 from afternoon singles – to win the two-day biennial competition.
At one point during the afternoon singles session, GB&I led in five of eight matches. Then things began to unravel for the visitors.
“We’re obviously disappointed with the result,” said GB&I captain Andy Ingram, who is standing in for Craig Watson. “I think that a lot of the games were close, we made some mistakes probably where we shouldn’t have and we’ll learn from those. We need 13 points and we’ve got four.”
Connor Syme (GB&I) and Paul McBride (GB&I) , left to right, talk over their shot during foursomes at the 2017 Walker Cup at The Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)
Thornberry, 20, started the USA comeback by winning four of the final five holes against reigning British Amateur champion Harry Ellis.
It was not the early birthday present Ellis wanted. The Englishman, who turns 22 on Sunday, was 2 up with five to play before Thornberry, a junior at the University of Mississippi, was conceded his birdie on the par-5 14th hole before registering winning pars on Nos. 16 and 17 to take a 1-up lead.
He saved his best for last, hitting his approach from 200 yards to 18 inches to seal a 2-up win.
“I pushed it a little bit, but we’re not going to tell anyone that,” said Thornberry. “But it was fun and I’m glad I could get the victory.”
Texan Zalatoris, 21, was in a tight match with 21-year-old Matthew Jordan, of England, and he trailed by one hole after 12 holes.
Zalatoris regained the lead with pars on the next two holes, then converted a clutch par putt on the 78-yard, par-3 15th hole, which produced a fist-pump from the fiery Wake Forest senior.
A 79yards #par3 @WalkerCup #LosAngelesCC 15th hole #superb par save for #WillZalatolis he is #happy @RandA @USGA @GettySport pic.twitter.com/P2F1mqIQdM
— David Cannon (@Cannonball63) September 10, 2017
After a poor drive on No. 18, Zalatoris managed to hit his third shot to 8 feet, and when Jordan failed to convert his 15-foot downhill par putt, the Texan’s putt was conceded for a 2-up win.
But the happiest man on the property might have been McNealy, who went 0-2-1 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, and has been eagerly waiting to avenge his 2015 performance.
But as he walked down the 10th fairway during his match against 2016 British Amateur champion Scott Gregory, the No. 2 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™ admitted to feeling a bit fatigued. He went 2 down to the 22-year-old from England.
Paul McBride (GB&I) reacts to his missed putt on the third hole during foursomes at the 2017 Walker Cup at The Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)
Then the former hockey player turned it on in what he dubbed “the third period.” He squared the match with winning pars on 12 and 13, then delivered the knockout blow with an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 15 to trigger three consecutive wins and a 3-and-1 victory.
That followed up his 5-and-4 morning foursomes win with 2017 U.S. Amateur runner-up Doug Ghim, of Arlington Heights, Ill.
“I joked with Doug this morning … that I doubled my point total career-wise for the Walker Cup,” said McNealy, who is playing his final amateur competition. “But this is big for me. I really wanted to play well this week for my teammates, for my country [and] for Captain Miller. It’s a great start today, but there’s a lot of golf left and those guys are playing awesome, so we got to keep the pedal down.”
Norman Xiong, 18, of Canyon Lake, Calif., delivered the other stunning USA comeback in singles, erasing an early 3-down deficit against Connor Syme, of Scotland, in posting a 2-and-1 victory. Collin Morikawa, 20, of La Canada-Flintridge, Calif., and Ghim never trailed in their singles victories.
Morikawa defeated McBride, 21, of the Republic of Ireland, 3 and 2, and Ghim earned a 2-and-1 decision over 2016 Stanford graduate David Boote, 23, of Wales.
Paul McBride (GB&I) reacts to his missed putt on the fourth hole during singles at the 2017 Walker Cup at The Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)
McBride lost the first to a par and the third, fourth and seventh to birdies to be four down. But after winning the eighth, 10th and 12th with birdies to get back to just one down, he lost the 13th to a birdie at the 14th to a par-five to go three down again and shook hands on the 16th.
The two GB&I singles victories came from 2016 British Amateur runner-up Robert McIntyre, of Scotland, and Jack Singh Brar, of England.
McIntyre, 21, who sat out the morning foursomes session, defeated long-hitting Cameron Champ, of Sacramento, Calif., 6 and 4, while Singh Brar, 20, built as much as a 6-up advantage over reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad, 26, of Newport Beach, Calif., before earning a 3-and-2 win.
“It was an incredible start,” said Singh Brar. “Obviously you couldn’t have asked for much better. Played pretty solid. This afternoon I had a great start and then just kept it going.”
The teams split the morning foursomes matches, 2-2. Morikawa and Xiong birdied the first four holes and won their first five en route to an 8-and-7 victory over Englishmen Ellis and Alfie Plant, the low amateur in this year’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
It was the largest margin of victory in an 18-hole foursomes match, surpassing the 7-and-6 outcomes of Jim Holtgrieve and Bob Lewis Jr. (1983), and Bryce Molder and David Eger in 2001.
“I think we just hit really good shots and didn’t miss too many,” said Xiong, a sophomore at the University of Oregon. “Things just went our way. We played great golf.”
GB&I earned its two foursomes points in the middle two matches. McBride and Syme won four of the first 11 holes in beating reigning U.S. Amateur champion Doc Redman, 19, of Raleigh, N.C., and Zalatoris, who is McBride’s teammate at Wake Forest University.
Then with their side facing a potential 3-1 deficit, Gregory and Singh Brar won three consecutive holes from No. 14 to beat 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Scottie Scheffler, 21, of Dallas, Texas, and Champ, 3 and 2.
The USA side lost No. 14 when Scheffler’s 4-iron approach from 231 yards – after a 371-yard drive by Champ – was pushed out of bounds. The duo then three-putted the 15th green from 11 feet and power-lipped out a bogey putt on 16.
46th Walker Cup Match, The Los Angeles Country Club (North Course, 7,397-yard, Par 70)
United States 8 leads Great Britain and Ireland 4 (after first day)
Morning Foursomes
- Collin Morikawa and Norman Xiong, USA def. Harry Ellis and Alfie Plant, GB&I, 8 and 7
- Connor Syme and Paul McBride, GB&I def. Doc Redman and Will Zalatoris, USA, 3 and 2
- Scott Gregory and Jack Singh Brar, GB&I def. Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Champ, USA, 3 and 2
- Maverick McNealy and Doug Ghim, USA def. David Boote and Jack Davidson, GB&I, 6 and 4
Afternoon Singles
- Braden Thornberry, USA def. Harry Ellis, GB&I, 2 up
- Norman Xiong, USA def. Connor Syme, GB&I, 2 and 1
- Jack Singh Brar, GB&I def. Stewart Hagestad, USA, 3 and 2
- Collin Morikawa, USA def. Paul McBride, GB&I, 3 and 2
- Will Zalatoris, USA def. Matthew Jordan, GB&I, 2 up
- Robert MacIntyre, GB&I def. Cameron Champ, USA, 6 and 4
- Doug Ghim, USA def. David Boote, GB&I, 2 and 1
- Maverick McNealy, USA def. Scott Gregory, GB&I, 3 and 1
Sunday’s foursomes and singles matches
Great Britain and Ireland vs. United States
Morning Foursomes (Irish time)
- 1515 – Connor Syme and Paul McBride, GB&I vs. Norman Xiong and Collin Morikawa, USA
- 1530 – Jack Singh Brar and Scott Gregory, GB&I vs. Braden Thornberry and Doc Redman, USA
- 1545 – David Boote and Jack Davidson, GB&I vs. Will Zalatoris and Cameron Champ, USA
- 1600 – Matthew Jordan and Robert MacIntyre, GB&I vs. Doug Ghim and Maverick McNealy, USA
Afternoon Singles (Irish time)
- 2030 – Jack Singh Brar, GB&I vs. Stewart Hagestad, USA
- 2040 – Scott Gregory, GB&I vs. Norman Xiong, USA
- 2050 – Connor Syme, GB&I vs. Scottie Scheffler, USA
- 2100 – Harry Ellis, GB&I vs. Collin Morikawa, USA
- 2110 – Paul McBride, GB&I vs. Braden Thornberry, USA
- 2120 – Matthew Jordan, GB&I vs. Doug Ghim, USA
- 2130 – Robert MacIntyre, GB&I vs. Cameron Champ, USA
- 2140 – Jack Davidson, GB&I vs. Will Zalatoris, USA
- 2150 – David Boote, GB&I vs. Doc Redman, USA
- 2200 – Alfie Plant, GB&I vs. Maverick McNealy, USA
