GB&I 6.5 – USA 5.5
There was no way that a good Irishman was going to lose a battle to stout and that’s how it proved as Stuart Grehan pulled off a famous scalp in beating world number one amateur Preston Stout with a birdie on the 18th to seal a famous comeback victory and help Great Britain and Ireland into a one point lead heading into Sunday.
Grehan came back from 3DN through three holes to level the match with a birdie on the 10th. His courageous comeback looked like it would end unfulfilled when he went 2DN with three to play to his American opponent but a par on the par-3 16th, a birdie on the par-4 17th and a superb 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th brought the 8,000 Lahinch crowd into raptures as he put blue on the board. He admitted it was too early for the chorus of ole’s but his win sends out a huge statement that Great Britain and Ireland are fed up of being bullied by the USA in singles sessions after they halved the eight matches.
“That was an unbelievable game, both of us played very well but so happy to have come out the other end of it! I was very calm, it was weird. Even when I was 3 down I was very calm and played some very good golf.
“I had a bit of a loss in the family this week [uncle Willie Egan] and maybe he was looking over me. I forgot I was two down with three to play I just stayed in it and played some really good golf coming in. Delighted.
“I am very proud of myself. It was incredible I just want to say thank you to the people who came out. All the lads are relishing the support and we need it tomorrow as well.”
After Grehan and Stout couldn’t be separated after their foursomes match they were the heavyweight singles tie in the opening match of the afternoon and they went punch for punch throughout.
A scrappy bogey saw Grehan lose the opener and he looked stuck on the ropes after Stout went birdie, birdie to move 3UP through three holes. The pair halved the par-5 4th in birdies as Grehan stopped the rot. He then birdied the par-3 5th for another halve.
It hadn’t been a great start to the singles overall for the hosts who were 2DN after two holes in the first two matches. With all matches all on the course, the Americans were ten-under for 20 holes. Connor Graham and Ben Bolton had early blue on the board as GB&I grew into the afternoon session and eventually led in four and were down in two.
Stout’s run of four birdies in a row ended on the 6th and Grehan trimmed the gap to two holes with his third birdie in a row. He wrestled back momentum in the match with a 15-foot birdie putt for the win on the 8th to cut the gap to the minimum and he drew a raucous roar on 10 when a 20-foot birdie putt drew him level with the world number one. At this stage both players were four-under on the card.
Stout, who was frustrated by the poor crowd control as the bulk of the 8,000 crowd swarmed around him, got over his anger and went through the gears. Birdies on 12 and 13 turned the match back in his favour and he moved 2UP thanks to a sensational approach to the 15th to gimme distance.
But he faltered down the stretch as Grehan stood tall and delivered the knockout punch in the final stages. It was a clash of two heavyweights playing golf of the highest standard.
“It’s up there, it was unbelievable. A different day he beats me. To hole that putt on 18 was cool. I was very calm over it, it was weird. I had the belief in myself. I thought that was it when Preston stiffed it on 15 but he gave me a lifeline on 16 and I played 17 and 18 pretty well so 16 was very important.”
Grehan clinched the moment of the week so far but the USA rallied superbly as Ethan Fang, William Jennings, Jay Leng Jr and the evergreen Stewart Hagestad put four successive points on the board for the visitors.
But GB&I performed well in the anchor matches and won the last three. Niall Sheils Donegan eased to a 3&2 victory over Tyler Watts while Eliot Baker atoned for a poor foursomes performance with a victory over Josiah Gilbert.
But in the third last match on the course, Luke Poulter, son of Ian who was famous for his Ryder Cup heroics, came up trumps with a crucial 2&1 win over Miles Russell to halve the session and give the hosts a one point lead going into the final day.
GB&I have notoriously struggled in the singles session of Walker Cup contests, not winning a session since 2023 and not winning a Sunday singles since their last contest win in 2015.
Entering the Saturday singles the USA were 49 points better in the format throughout the history of the competition so this halved session will feel like one against the head.
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