A little over eight years ago, an unfortunate accident on the Maynooth campus ended Stuart Grehan’s Walker Cup dream, and when he turned pro later that year, he thought that his chances of playing in what’s widely considered the pinnacle event in amateur golf were dead and buried.
But when he returned to the amateur ranks after a pro career that smoldered but never truly caught fire, the silver lining was that he might get to fulfill his Walker Cup dreams after all.
Lahinch in 2026 was the goal, but there was always the chance that hitting the ground running would hasten the process and that’s exactly what’s happened.
Now, alongside England’s Eliot Baker, he’ll head to the first tee at Cypress Point, shake hands with Ethan Fang and Preston Stout – the third and fifth-ranked amateur golfers on the planet – and become a Walker Cup player at long last.
The Tullamore native, who represents County Louth Golf Club, will be in the third of the four foursomes ties that get the action underway, with Connor Graham and Tyler Weaver taking on world number one Jackson Koivun and Tommy Morrison in the lead out match, Charlie Forster and Luke Poulter facing Stewart Hagestad and Ben James in match number two, and Cameron Adams and Dominic Clemons squaring off against Michael La Sasso and Jase Summy in the anchor tie.
It means that Gavin Tiernan will have to wait until the afternoon singles matches to get his taste of the action, but a mouthwatering tie against Hagestad, a veteran of four Walker Cups, awaits him in the fifth of eight singles ties.
Following swiftly behind, Grehan and Fang will do battle once again, and both GB&I captain, Dean Robertson and his U.S. counterpart Nathan Smith have ensured that all 10 of their players will get a taste of the action on day one.
Sky Sports will broadcast extensive live coverage from California, featuring two sessions daily on both Saturday, September 6, and Sunday, September 7, on Sky Sports Golf.
Three hours of foursomes golf will air from 5:30pm on both Saturday and Sunday, after the Amgen Irish Open concludes, with singles matches starting at midnight on both days.
You can follow the live scoring here.
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