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| Nathan Smith battles out of a greenside bunker during his Sunday foursomes match. (John Mummert/USGA) |
Ardmore, Pa. – For the second consecutive day, the United States of America won three of four foursomes (alternate shot) matches to increase its lead to 11-5 over the Great Britain and Ireland team Sunday morning at the 2009 Walker Cup Match, being played on the par-70, 6,846-yard Merion Golf Club.
Heading into Sunday afternoon’s 10 singles matches, the Americans need two points to retain the Cup and 2½ points to win the Match outright.
Rickie Fowler and Bud Cauley remained undefeated for the USA with a narrow 1-up victory over Stiggy Hodgson and Niall Kearney. After Fowler made a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 16 to maintain the Americans’ 2-up lead, the GB&I duo won the 17th with a par and thought they had a chance at No. 18 when Hodgson almost chipped in for birdie from the fringe behind the green. Cauley then made a 3-footer for par to halve the hole and secure the match for the Americans.
Fowler, who is playing in his second consecutive Walker Cup, was surprised Hodgson’s chip didn’t fall.
“I thought it was going to turn in and I was going to have to drop [my 30-foot birdie putt],” said Fowler. “They played awesome.”
The USA team of Peter Uihlein and Nathan Smith also continued its winning ways, with a 5-and-4 victory over Chris Paisley and Dale Whitnell. Uihlein (3-0) and Smith (2-0) struggled in their foursomes win Saturday but had no such problems in the second round, winning three of the first four holes en route to the victory.
“Peter and Nathan yesterday were not as good as they have been and that’s an aberration; they are a great combination,” said USA Captain George “Buddy” Marucci Jr.
The Americans’ third point came via Brian Harman and Adam Mitchell’s 2-and-1 win over Gavin Dear and Matt Haines. Harman and Mitchell fell behind quickly, losing the first three holes, but rallied to earn the victory.
“On the third green, when we were 3 down and just reeling, I told Mitch, ‘We’re going to come back and win this match, I don’t care what it takes,’ ” said Harman, who also played on the victorious 2005 USA Walker Cup team. “Mitch started hitting some really good shots and I started making some putts and we really throttled them the last 13 holes.”
Wallace Booth and Sam Hutsby paired to keep the GB&I team from getting shut out in the morning foursomes with a 3-and-2 victory over Drew Weaver and Brendan Gielow.
Despite holding a large lead, Fowler does not expect his teammates to relax heading into the afternoon’s singles matches. In 2007, Fowler was a member of the USA team that possessed a 10-6 lead after the Sunday foursomes and held on for a narrow 12½-11½ victory.
“I don’t think it’s so easy to play from ahead because people expect you to keep staying ahead,” said Fowler. “From their point, they are somewhat the underdogs. It’s pretty easy for them to make a comeback. I saw it yesterday in the afternoon and I saw it in 2007 in the afternoon on Sunday. It’s not fun when they start coming back because they can come back strong.”
The 2009 Walker Cup Match, which concludes with the 10 singles matches Sunday afternoon, is a men’s amateur team competition played every other year, with one squad from the USA and the other representing England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Wales.
Beth Murrison is a Manager of Communications for the USGA. E-mail her with questions or comments at bmurrison@usga.org.
Results
Ardmore, Pa. – Results of the second round of foursomes (alternate shot) at the 2009 Walker Cup Match, played Sunday morning at the par-70, 6,846-yard Merion Golf Club:
Foursomes
Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga., and Adam Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. (USA) def. Gavin Dear, Scone, Scotland and Matt Haines, Chatham, England (GB&I), 3 and 2
Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif., and Bud Cauley, Jacksonville, Fla. (USA) def. Stiggy Hodgson, London, England and Niall Kearney, Dublin, Ireland (GB&I), 1 up
Wallace Booth, Comrie, Scotland and Sam Hutsby, Portsmouth, England (GB&I) def. Drew Weaver, High Point, N.C., and Brendan Gielow, Muskegon, Mich. (USA), 3 and 2
Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Peter Uihlein, Orlando, Fla. (USA) def. Chris Paisley, Northumberland, England and Dale Whitnell, London, England (GB&I), 5 and 4
Pairings
Ardmore, Pa. – Pairings for the second round of singles matches, to be played Sunday afternoon at the par-70, 6,846-yard Merion Golf Club (times are EDT):
Singles
1 p.m. – Gavin Dear, Scone, Scotland (GB&I) vs. Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. (USA)
1:10 p.m. – Matt Haines, Chatham, England (GB&I) vs. Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif. (USA)
1:20 p.m. – Stiggy Hodgson, London, England (GB&I) vs. Peter UIhlein, Orlando, Fla. (USA)
1:30 p.m. – Wallace Booth, Comrie, Scotland (GB&) vs. Morgan Hoffmann, Saddle Brook, N.J. (USA)
1:40 p.m. – Chris Paisley, Northumberland, England (GB&I) vs. Bud Cauley, Jacksonville, Fla. (USA)
1:50 p.m. – Sam Hutsby, Portsmouth, England (GB&I) vs. Adam Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. (USA)
2 p.m. – Tommy Fleetwood, Lancashire, England (GB&I) vs. Drew Weaver, High Point, N.C. (USA)
2:10 p.m. – Luke Goddard, London, England (GB&I) vs. Cameron Tringale, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (USA)
2:20 p.m. – Niall Kearny, Dublin, Ireland (GB&I) vs. Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. (USA)
2:30 p.m. – Dale Whitnell, London, England, (GB&I) vs. Brendan Gielow, Muskegon, Mich. (USA)
