GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND WIN 2015 

WALKER CUP MATCH 16½-9½

R and A picture of captain Nigel Edwards (standing extreme left) and his GB and I Walker 

Cup heroes.

USGA NEWS RELEASE

 Great Britain and Ireland defeated the United States of America, 16½-9½, today in the 45th Walker Cup Match at Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club, Lancashire.

“I’m delighted with the victory,” said GBI captain Nigel Edwards. “We had a very strong front and we had strength throughout the team. I said last night to the team that as long as the lads keep doing what they have been doing all week, playing their own games, their short games are fantastic, which is probably what has given us the edge. 

"Some of the bunker shots have been exceptional but also the standard of play here has been fantastic.”

Edwards, captain in 2011, 2013 and 2015, has two Walker Cup Match victories to his credit (Royal Aberdeen in 2011 was the other) in addition to his play on two Match-winning teams in four appearances.

England’s Jimmy Mullen, who paced GBI with a perfect 4-0 mark, led the team’s afternoon domination of singles matches in which they won five, halved three and lost just two.

 England’s Ashley Chesters, 26, the oldest GBI player (3½) and Cormac Sharvin of Ireland (3) were the other home point leaders.

“It doesn’t matter if I won all of my games as long as the team won was the main thing,” said Mullen, who made the cut at the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield and the Round of 16 at the 2014 U.S. Amateur at Atlanta Athletic Club.

 “To win all of my games was just the icing on the cake.”

Paul Casey and Luke Donald are among the small group of GBI players who have posted 4-0 records in a single Walker Cup Match.

College All-Americans Bryson DeChambeau, of Clovis, California, the 2015 U.S. Amateur and NCAA Division I men’s individual champion, and Beau Hossler, of Mission Viejo, California, were the only USA players to score victories in the Sunday singles matches.

Hossler (3), DeChambeau (2½) and Robby Shelton (2), of Wilmer, Alabama, were the top point-scorers for the USA.

“I don’t think we handed them anything. I think they went out and played well, very well, and they won it,” said USA captain John “Spider” Miller. 

“I’d feel bad if we were three-putting and giving them holes. I think our guys played well. They just played very well. They outplayed us and earned it.”

In the morning foursomes, GBI extended its overnight lead from 7-5 to 10-6 by winning three of the four matches for the second consecutive day.

GBI has now won five of the last six Matches contested on its ‘home’ soil, dating back to 1999. The only U.S. win in that stretch was 2007 at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland. With the GBI victory, the two teams have now split the 14 Matches since 1989, 7-7. Before 1987, the USA dominated the series with 28-2-1 mark.

Today's winning margin is the largest for GBI since the Walker Cup began in 1922.

The USA leads the overall series 35-9-1.

The 2017 Walker Cup Match will be played Sept. 9-10 at Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club.

RESULTS

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND 16.5pt

UNITED STATES of AMERICA 9.5pt

SECOND-DAY RESULTS

Foursomes (GBI 3, USA 1)

Ashley Chesters/Jimmy Mullen (GBI) bt Beau Hossler/Denny McCarthy (USA), 3 and 2

Paul Dunne/Gary Hurley (GBI) bt Mike McCoy/Scott Harvey (USA), 1 hle

Cormac Sharvin/Jack McDonald (GBI) bt Hunter Stewart/Lee McCoy (USA), 2 holes

Bryson DeChambeau/Robby Shelton (USA) bt Jack Hume/Gavin Moynihan (GBI), 3 and 2

Singles (GBI 6.5pt, USA 3.5)

Ashley Chesters (GBI) bt Jordan Niebrugge (USA), 3 and 1

Maverick McNealy (USA) halved with Paul Dunne (GBI)

Jimmy Mullen (GBI) bt Denny McCarthy (USA), 3 and 2

Cormac Sharvin (GBI) bt Mike McCoy (USA), 4 and 3

Beau Hossler (USA) bt Ewan Ferguson (GBI), 1 hole

Grant Forrest (GBI) bt Scott Harvey (USA), 2 and 1

Gary Hurley (GBI) bt. Hunter Stewart (USA), 1 hole

Lee McCoy (USA) halved with Jack McDonald (GBI)

Robby Shelton (USA) halved with Jack Hume (GBI)

Bryson DeChambeau (USA) bt Gavin Moynihan (GBI), 6 and 5