Great Britain and Ireland pulled off the greatest comeback in Walker Cup history Sunday, rallying from three points down to defeat the United States 13½-12½ at Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland.
The home team won seven of the ten available singles points in the final session to capture their first Walker Cup since 2015, ending America's five-match winning streak in the premier amateur golf competition.
"The home team wins seven of available ten singles points to shock USA," according to the USGA's official results. The Americans had swept Sunday morning's foursomes matches to take what appeared to be a commanding lead into the afternoon singles.
But GB&I got off to a blazing start in the final session on a gusty Irish day, winning each of the first four singles matches to immediately erase their deficit.
Stuart Grehan topped Preston Stout for the second straight day, while Jack Whaley recorded a historic 8-and-7 runaway victory over William Jennings. Luke Poulter beat Ethan Fang when the American's putt on No. 17 came up just short, and Tyler Weaver closed out his match over Jay Leng Jr. with a 4-and-3 win.
Josh Hill sealed the victory for GB&I by getting up and down from a greenside bunker on the par-5 18th hole, clinching the cup for the home squad.
The Walker Cup is contested biennially by leading male amateur golfers from the United States and Great Britain & Ireland. The 51st staging took place over two days, September 5-6, featuring both foursomes and singles match play on Lahinch's historic links terrain.
This year marked a scheduling change for the competition, which moved to even-numbered years following the switch of the Eisenhower Trophy to odd-numbered years to avoid clashing with the Olympic Games.
The United States still leads the overall series 40-9 with one match tied since the competition began in 1922. However, GB&I's stunning comeback at Lahinch will go down as one of the most memorable victories in the tournament's 104-year history.
The Walker Cup is named after George Herbert Walker, who was president of the USGA in 1920 when the match was initiated. The competition is organized jointly by The R&A and the United States Golf Association, with matches held alternately in the U.S. and Ireland or Britain.
Captain Dean Robertson led the GB&I team while Nathan Smith captained the United States squad. The victory marks a significant breakthrough for British and Irish amateur golf, which had struggled against American dominance in recent years.
