LAHINCH, Ireland – Niall Sheils Donegan’s superpower is to find even the smallest morsels of motivation and use them as fuel.
That was evident on Lahinch’s ninth hole during Saturday’s opening foursomes session of the 51st Walker Cup.
After missing a 6-footer for birdie to win the hole push he and Josh Hill’s lead over Americans Ryder Cowan and Josiah Gilbert to 5 up, Donegan, the Scottish standout playing in his second straight Walker Cup, quickly raked back his 18-incher for par, assuming one of his opponents had given him the putt. But Cowan spoke up, noting that he had yet to concede the hole-tying tap-in.
Some drama here at The Walker Cup
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Niall Sheils Donegan scoops up his missed putt quickly before it was given to him. Ryder Cowan from the USA Team has to call in an official.
The hole was given to the U.S. 👀 pic.twitter.com/SsLeXZLUg3
There was some deliberation with the match referee, who determined that GB&I would lose the hole with bogey, the lead shrinking back to 3 up. Later, Donegan owned the mistake, though the gaffe made him even more determined not to let his opponents back in the match.
“It was completely on me,” Donegan said. “I hit the 6-footer and missed it like an idiot. I had a foot back, and I just dragged it away like I’m in a Sunday bounce game, but those aren’t the rules of golf. And you screw up, but it’s not about how you screw up, it’s about how you bounce back and we bounced back amazingly.”
That ended up GB&I’s only blemish of the match, while the Americans couldn’t get anything going to claw back further. Two holes later, at the par-3 11th, Gilbert and Cowan waited a few moments before Gilbert stepped in to make a short par putt to tie the hole. But on the par-5 12th, Gilbert hit his second shot into a bunker and Cowan blasted the third well over the green, after which they couldn’t get up and down, giving the birdie and the hole to GB&I, who would close out the match, 4 and 3, with a Hill par save at the par-4 15th.
The full point marked the first of the weekend for GB&I, which took a 2 1/2 to 1 1/2 lead after the first session. The U.S. has not won an opening foursomes session since 2009.
“Momentum is a big player in match play, especially in a week like this where you’ve got an entire team around you,” Donegan said. “If you can get some golf going, try and get some energy throughout the entire team room, it plays a big part for sure.”
After the match, Donegan sought out the referee and apologized for the situation. Then he headed back to the GB&I team room to get ready for his Saturday singles matchup against Tyler Watts, more motivated than ever.
