GB&I pulls off stunning comeback to win back Walker Cup - ESPN

COUNTY CLARE, Ireland — Connor Graham and Josh Hill each won the 18th hole in the final two matches Sunday at Lahinch as Great Britain & Ireland capped off a stunning comeback against the Americans to win the Walker Cup for the first time since 2015.

Graham birdied the last two holes to earn a precious halve against 17-year-old Miles Russell. It came down to Hill, all square in his match with 18-year-old Tyler Watts, his Tennessee teammate. Hill hit a long bunker shot to 3 feet and holed the birdie putt for a 13½-12½ victory.

«We had that belief we could win, and it's going to be a great night,» Hill said.

The Americans, loaded with seven of the top 10 players in the world amateur ranking, swept the morning foursomes matches in the fierce wind to build a three-point lead going into the 10 singles matches, long a U.S. strength. Team USA needed to win only 3½ points in singles to keep the cup.

GB&I, however, quickly turned the tables and put its blue scores on the leaderboard by winning the opening four matches.

Stuart Grehan, the lone Irish player on home soil, took down top-ranked amateur Preston Stout. Luke Poulter closed out his match on the 17th hole. U.S. Amateur champion Jack Whaley of England demolished William Jennings, 8 and 7, and Tyler Weaver won in 15 holes.

Key for GB&I, however, was getting three points — two wins and two halves — from the four matches that went to the final hole.

Niall Sheils Donegan, the Scot who grew up in San Francisco, never had the lead in his match but ground out a halve against Kihei Akina when the BYU freshman missed a 4-foot birdie putt.

Eliot Baker atoned for a Sunday singles loss to Stewart Hagestad last year at Cypress Point by winning the par-5 18th. Hagestad tried to hit