LAHINCH, Ireland – When the McCormack Medal was handed out during Thursday evening’s Walker Cup gala at Lahinch Golf Club, the recipient, Preston Stout, wasn’t there to accept it.
“Sadly, he can’t be here tonight as he is feeling unwell,” R&A CEO Mark Darbon told the room, which was missing Stout and two of his American teammates, William Jennings and Ethan Fang, who had missed the entirety of Thursday’s practice while dealing with stomach illnesses.
U.S. captain Nathan Smith contended the situation was nowhere near as dire as 2021 at Seminole, where 16 members of both teams were affected by a stomach bug. But just in case, Smith phoned first alternate Max Herendeen — who was back on campus at the University of Illinois — and told him to be on standby.
“It turned out we really didn’t have to do much because they’re all available,” Smith said on Friday afternoon after all three sick players returned to at least hit balls, chip and putt; Stout and Fang even joined their teammates, playing as a sevensome, for the last bit of their practice round.
“Obviously, we can only play eight three out of the four matches. But the guys are ready. We were ready to pivot if we had to, but I think we feel good about our teams that we’re going to be sending out in the morning.”
While Jennings will sit Saturday morning’s foursomes session, Stout and Fang will team for a third time after going 0-2 as a foursomes duo at last year’s Walker Cup at Cypress Point. They will face the lone Irishman, Stuart Grehan, who has played Lahinch an estimated 30 to 40 times and will team with England’s Eliot Baker.
Scotland’s Connor Graham and England’s Tyler Weaver will reunited for Great Britain and Ireland. They took down Jackson Koivun and Tommy Morrison on Saturday morning at Cypress before falling to the same pair the next day. This Saturday, Graham and Weaver draw Kihei Akina and Jay Leng, the latter of whom is arguably the hottest player on the planet having won the Western Amateur and finished second at the U.S. Amateur in recent weeks.
As expected, American teens Miles Russell and Tyler Watts, ranked fifth and second in the world, respectively, will partner opposite Englishman Luke Poulter and Sam Easterbook. It’s believed to be the first time ever that two players who have yet to hit a college-golf shot have teamed in an opening Walker Cup session; Jordan Spieth and Patrick Rodgers were sat for the first session in 2011.
The anchor match will pit Scotland’s Niall Sheils Donegan and England’s Josh Hill, a surprise selection, against Ryder Cowan and Josiah Gilbert.
Sitting for GB&I captain Dean Robertson are Englishmen Ben Bolton, who is not 100%, and Jack Whaley, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion. Whaley’s absence marks the third time in the last four Walker Cups that the U.S. Amateur winner has sat the first session; Mason Howell (2025) and Ty Strafaci (2021) were the others during that span. The sitting U.S. Amateur champion hasn’t won his opening match since Matt Fitzpatrick in 2013.
Here are the complete Saturday foursomes pairings and starting times:
- Stuart Grehan/Eliot Baker vs. Preston Stout/Ethan Fang, 3:30 a.m. ET
- Connor Graham/Tyler Weaver vs. Kihei Akina/Jay Leng, 3:40 a.m. ET
- Sam Easterbrook/Luke Poulter vs. Miles Russell/Tyler Watts, 3:50 a.m. ET
- Niall Sheils Donegan/Josh Hill vs. Ryder Cowan/Josiah Gilbert, 4 a.m. ET
