Sam Easterbrook’s brutal lip-out putt at the 18th hole gave the Americans a much-needed 1-up win at the end of Saturday morning’s foursomes matches in the 51st Walker Cup.
U.S. teenagers Miles Russell and Tyler Watts had put the pressure on Easterbrook and his Great Britain and Ireland partner Luke Poulter, going 3 up after the first 10 holes at Lahinch.
Thanks to Easterbrook’s clutch putting, that deficit was whittled to the point where GB&I could have forced a tie and taken a 3-1 advantage heading into the afternoon’s singles matches.
The massive trouble never arrived though for the red, white and blue as Watts buried a clutch putt on the final hole to turn up the heat once again on the GB&I pairing.
Easterbook’s read was correct. The result was less than desirable.
Instead of that 3-1 lead, GB&I now carries a 2 1/2 to 1 1/2 advantage after the first four alternate-shot matches in Ireland, where the wind — which had been blowing out of the southwest all week — switched to a southeasterly direction early Saturday before dying down considerably from the 30 mph-plus gusts that impacted Friday’s practice round.
Here’s a match-by-match breakdown of how the morning session played out with the afternoon singles matches underway on Golf Channel and Golf Channel mobile.
Match 1: Stuart Grehan/Eliot Baker (GB&I) tied Preston Stout/Ethan Fang (USA)
Grehan missed a 7-footer for birdie as the Americans took a 1-up lead after two holes during the morning’s first match.
This one came down to the back nine, though — and more specifically the 18th green, where a missed American putt secured the half-point for Grehan and Baker.
“I think a half-point is a fair result, and my guess is they’d probably say the same,” said Grehan after the match.
Match 2: Niall Sheils Donegan/Josh Hill (GB&I) def. Ryder Cowan and Josiah Gilbert (USA), 4 and 3
Donegan gave a little fist pump after walking in a 20-footer for birdie at the par-3 eighth as the lead pushed to 4 up.
He had no idea the controversy that was waiting for him at the next hole ...
Some drama here at The Walker Cup
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 5, 2026
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
Donegan overcame that gaff, though, as he and Hill delivered the first point of the 51st Walker Cup to GB&I. And it came with relative ease, too.
The pair stretched the lead to 3 up after the 13th hole, and went on to close it out two holes later at the par-4 15th.
“You screw up but it’s not about how you screw up it’s about how you bounce back, and we bounced back amazingly,” Donegan said of the incident on the ninth.
Match 3: Connor Graham/Tyler Weaver (GB&I) def. Kihei Akina and Jay Leng (USA), 1 up
This match was a dogfight from the start, with seven combined birdies in the first four holes.
Leng rolled in a par save from off the green at the first, but Graham made a 12-footer for birdie to win the hole. Graham dropped another birdie, from 25 feet, to earn a tie at the second hole and remain 1 up.
At the par-4 third, Graham made a third straight birdie putt, this one from more than 50 feet. Akina answered with a chip in to keep the Americans 1 down.
Graham’s fourth straight birdie came from 15 feet at the par-5 fourth, which earned another tie.
Graham hit five putts on the first five holes and made all of them.
We may need to send a push notification if he makes another one.
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 5, 2026
Connor Graham of GB&I sank over 100 feet of putts in his first THREE holes ... and he didn't stop there.
Just watch this. Insane. And go turn on The Walker Cup on Golf Channel or Golf Channel Mobile! pic.twitter.com/4wsJAkQVfe
The first bogey for the GB&I pairing came at the par-4 seventh after Weaver missed his par save to send the match back into a tie.
He made up for that on the 18th hole with a magnificent chip-in attempt that almost rolled into the hole. Graham did the light work of tapping it in to give GB&I its second full point of the morning session.
Match 4: Miles Russell/Tyler Watts def. Sam Easterbrook and Luke Poulter (GB&I), 1 up
Easterbrook nearly holed out for an albatross at the par-5 second, which GB&I won with eagle to take its first lead in this match.
The American kids came back with birdie at the par-5 fourth.
Russell rolled in a short birdie at the par-4 sixth to put the first bit of red up on the board at 10:16 a.m. local time. And then Watts converted a 30-foot, double-breaker for birdie to win the par-3 eighth and stretch their lead to 2 up.
It got as large as 3 up at the 10th hole before Poulter and Easterbrook began to battle back.
Easterbrook cut the U.S. lead to 1 up with a huge putt on the 13th hole before draining another on the 17th to bring the match to all square, before the aforementioned happening at No. 18.
What does history say?
For the Americans not to panic.
The last opening foursomes session that the U.S. won was a 3-1 result at Merion in 2009.
GB&I led, 3-1, after the foursomes sessions at the 2023 and 2025 Walker Cups, both American victories.
