Heavy fog coated the historic Cypress Point, turning the breathtaking course into a blind gauntlet. Through the mist and biting winds, Texas men’s golf senior Tommy Morrison helped Team USA defeat Team Great Britain/Ireland 17-9 to capture America’s fifth straight Walker Cup victory.
Morrison, partnered with No. 1 amateur and Auburn junior Jackson Koivun, opened up the tournament with a disappointing back nine, losing three straight holes en route to a loss on the 17th hole against GB&I’s Connor Graham and Tyler Weaver. Despite trailing 3-1 after Saturday morning’s competition, Team USA stormed back that afternoon in the singles portion to give them a 6.5-5.5 lead entering the final day of the tournament.
“We just knew we had to have a good session and they delivered,” U.S. captain Nathan Smith said.
Morrison and Koivun were first to tee off Sunday morning, and the duo got their revenge on Graham and Weaver as they escaped with a 1-up win. Sunday morning saw both teams split the opening four matches, adjusting the American lead to 8.5-7.5.
In a contest that was neck and neck the entire weekend, the Sunday afternoon singles matches did not follow this pattern.
Morrison’s final round of the tournament left Texas golf fans eager for the season to start. Morrison never trailed in his match against GB&I’s Niall Shiels Donegan, and the match concluded on the iconic 16th hole, where Morrison won 3-2. This improved Morrison’s Walker Cup record to an impressive 2-1 and extended the American lead to 10.5-7.5, positioning his team only three points away from clinching the victory.
The U.S. clinched its 40th Walker Cup after Stewart Hagestad took down Baker convincingly 4 & 3.
“Credit to everyone else for doing their job,” Hagestad told NBC’s Kira K. Dixon after the match. “The timing of it couldn’t have worked out (better). I’m just so happy that went in. I hit that one a little hard but every putt is a straight putt if you hit it hard enough.”
Team USA dominated GB&I in the singles matches to conclude the 50th edition of the Walker Cup, finishing. USA finished with an 8-1-1 record in the Sunday afternoon matches, solidifying the largest margin of victory in a final session since 2009.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Walker Cup team bring it like they did this afternoon in singles,” Smith said.
