Cobblestone Beach, California – US amateur champion Mason Howell ended his game with 3 birds and birds on the ocean at Cypress Point, Jace Summy won two titles on Saturday as the Americans competed in singles after the Walker Cup opening, leading 6 1/2-5 1/2 in Greater and Ireland.
Howell won the Coast at the Olympic Club last month, and Georgia’s 18-year-old high school senior won the position of American amateurs.
He sat in the morning four-man meeting when GB&i built a 3-1 lead and felt nervous in the afternoon singles, but only briefly.
Howell’s Florida junior Luke Poulter crossed with Luke Poulter, son of the Ryder Cup, when he was just 15th birdie along the ocean before throwing a 45-foot birdie putt on the iconic 16, which required a Tee shot from the ocean to shoot in the ocean.
“If I said I wasn’t too nervous about the first serving, I would lie,” Howell said. “But no, what a day. What a wonderful day. It’s awesome.”
The infamous oceanic layer on the Monterey Peninsula was lifted after a morning meeting, offering majestic views to Cypress Point, the most beautiful lesson in the golf course.
The stars have participated in the Walker Cup since 1981, and it is the first time they have returned to Cypress. Hal Sutton, who participated in 81 games, participated in the competition. Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Kuchar and Juli Inkster are also three-time American women’s amateur champions.
It was the opening day, with GB&i renewal hoping to win on U.S. land for the first time in 24 years and winning three of four backup games.
Connor Graham combination Tyler Weaver won three consecutive holes in the last nine games as they beat the highest-ranked amateur Jackson Koivun and Tommy Morrison. Graham also won two games for GB&i, beating Ben James in singles.
Stuart Grehan and Eliot Baker won 18th against Preston Stout and Ethan Fang. But these two players from GB&I entered a small part of the singles within an inch of the U.S. rally.
Grehan had a 6-foot birdie putt in 18th against Ethan Fang, just to grazed the putt on the right edge of the cup, and they settled it in half.
In the last game, Baker was all square, had a glitch, had trouble leaving the tee and green left. He leaned it to 12 feet, and when it was eliminated twice, he had to do that. His par putt looked good until the last round was closed.
“We just knew we had to have a good meeting and then they did it.” Nathan Smith said of his team winning five of eight singles games and cutting another half.
The Americans have won the last four wins – it was won at St. Andrews in 2023 – and the series has dominated since its inception in 1924. In 2001, the last GB&i win for GB&i was in the ocean forests on the Georgia coast.
When Scotsman Niall Shiels Donegan, who grew up in San Francisco, beat Jacob Modleski for the second time, he had another cheer – he also beat Modleski in the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals.
Shiels Donegan glanced at the rankings early in the last nine games and saw it full of American blowouts. Koivun knocked down Weaver of 4 and 3. Stewart Hagestad and Stout both ended the match on the 13th hole.
Shiels Donegan and Graham played their part in winning the game and kept GB&I off.
“When I walked down, I saw the left plate of 11 and saw that we didn’t have the best singles,” Shiels Donegan said. “In this case, I think I have something more like a job that I have to do, let’s really focus on getting the job done, get any point for the team and see what we can do for the rest of the week.”
Sunday’s last meeting had four quarters in the morning, followed by all 10 players in singles.
