Great Britain & Ireland makes shocking comeback, wins Walker Cup for first time since 2015

Great Britain & Ireland was down bad on Sunday, the scoreboard and history casting doubt on any hopes of the 2026 Walker Cup ending differently than the previous five iterations.

And yet, hours later, 22-year-old amateur Josh Hill looked over a birdie putt of just 3 feet, with thousands circling the 18th green at Lahinch in southwest Ireland as two nervous teams looked on. Hill poured the putt in with ease and felt the embrace as the GB&I team completed a shocking, unbelievable comeback to win the Walker Cup.

It is Great Britain & Ireland’s 10th time winning the Cup in 51 tries. The United States (40-10-1) has dominated the biennial competition, which pits the best men’s amateur players from each side for a two-day match. Great Britain & Ireland had not won since 2015.

The Americans’ depth almost always gives them an advantage. This year was no different, with seven of the top 10 ranked amateurs in the world — including the top two and six of the top seven — playing for the U.S. And while GB&I had a one-point lead after Saturday, the U.S. won all four foursome matches in the morning session to take a commanding 9 ½-6 ½ lead.

But then Preston Stout, the top-ranked amateur, lost the opening match of singles to Jack Grehan. Luke Poulter, son of Ian, put up another point for GB&I with a 3 & 1 win over Ethan Fang. Jack Whaley and Tyler Weaver dominated their matches, and the first four had all gone on the board for the home side.

From there, the GB&I team just kept on coming, and the Americans missed a series of putts and struggled to maintain their composure. By the time 17-year-old American phenom Miles Russell lost each of the last two holes to halve his match with Connor Graham, it was 12 ½ for each side with one match left.

Tyler Watts and Hill were all square on the 18th hole, with the Americans only needing a half-point to tie and retain the cup.

Watts played his third shot on the par-5 from 130 yards out to the green, but left himself a difficult length from a tricky part of the putting surface. Hill attempted to drive the green in two and missed, but played his third out of the greenside bunker brilliantly.

Watts went first, the 18-year-old giving it a good shot but just missing the cup. Hill stepped up and poured it in.

“I was shaking and I’m just glad it went in, to be honest, because this is absolutely unbelievable,” Hill told the broadcast.

Hill said he asked captain Dean Robertson before the bunker shot if he needed a win or a half, and Robertson replied that they needed the full point. “I was like, alright, let’s do it,” Hill said.

The Walker Cup is the amateur equivalent to the Ryder Cup, but while the latter has become increasingly corporatized in recent decades and seeks sprawling venues that can hold hundreds of thousands of spectators and all the hospitality suites, the former remains quite intimate. As a result, it goes to many of the best courses on either side of the Atlantic. Last year’s edition was at Cypress Point in California, the No. 2 course in the world, per Golf Digest, while Lahinch is No. 21.

The small town in County Clare came out for the golf all week, walking the fairways behind the players and surrounding that 18th green from all corners.

The next edition will be in 2028, at Bandon Dunes in Oregon.