PEBLE BEACH, CA – US amateur champion Mason Howell ended the match by birding both par 3s along the sea at Cypress Point, with Jace Sammy winning twice on Saturday.
Howell won his place with the US team when a Georgia 18-year-old high school senior won the US amateur at the Olympic Club last month at the US club.
He was sitting during a foursome session in the morning. GB&I built a 3-1 lead and felt a nerve with an afternoon single, but only easy.
Howell was one on Luke Poulter, the Florida junior and son of the stubborn Ian Poulter of the Ryder Cup.
“I would lie if I said I wasn’t too nervous on the first tee,” Howell said. “But no, what a day. What a beautiful day. That’s a wonderful thing.”
The infamous marine layers on the Monterey Peninsula were lifted after a morning session, giving you a majestic view of Cypress Point, on the most picturesque courses of golf.
The star then went out to this Walker Cup and returned to Cypress for the first time since 1981. Hal Sutton, who played in these ’81 games, was on the track. So were Bryson Deccanbeau, Matt Kucher, Juli Incster and the three-time US Women’s Amateur Champion.
It was a pretty first day, with GB&I renewing hopes of winning in US soil for the first time in 24 years and winning three of four alternative shot matches.
Connor Graham paired Tyler Weaver to knock off top-ranked amateur Jackson Covrun and Tommy Morrison on the 17th hole, earning three straight holes on the back nine. Graham also won two GB&I matches, beating Ben James in the singles.
Stuart Grehan and Elliot Baker won on the 18th against Preston Stout and Ethan Fun. However, the same two players from GB&I came within just a few minutes of avoiding the singles American rally.
Grehan had a six-foot birdie putt against Ethan Fun on the 18th, but the putt grazed the far right of the cup and settled for the half.
In the final match, Baker was all square with Sammy, leaving the green left off the tee. He chipped at 12 feet and had to make it when Sammy putts twice for a par. His par putt looked much better until he got off on the final turn.
“We knew we had to have a good session, and they delivered,” said U.S. Captain Nathan Smith, who said his team won five of eight singles matches and halved another match.
The Americans were St Andrews in the last four episodes – in 2023, and have dominated the series since it began in 1924. The final GB&I victory away from home was in Ocean Forest on the Georgia coast in 2001.
Neil Shields Donegan, a Scottish man who grew up in San Francisco, had another cheering section when he defeated Jacob Modresky for the second time.
Shields Donegan glanced at the leaderboard early in the Back nine and saw it was filled with American pimples. Koivun defeated Weaver, 4 and 3. Stewart Hagstad and Stout both closed the match on hole 13.
Shiels Dongan and Graham were helpful in scoring the points that concluded GB&I.
“I saw 11 boards left as I was walking and saw us not doing our best singles,” Shields Donaghan said. “In that situation, I think I’ve got a little more to have to do my job. Let’s get the job done, get team points and see what we can do for the rest of the week.”
Sunday’s final session will feature four foursome matches in the morning, followed by all 10 players competing in singles.
