Great Britain and Ireland lost 17-9 to the USA at Cypress Point and thoughts now turn to the 51st edition of the matches at Lahinch Golf Club in September 2026.
County Louth’s Gavin Tiernan got the lone singles win for Great Britain and Ireland as they were crushed 8.5-1.5 in the final session en route to a fifth successive defeat in the biennial matches.
“Obviously, we come here to win, and obviously everyone is a little disappointed,” said 19-year-old Tiernan, who will be hoping to win back the trophy when Lahinch hosts the matches from September 5-6 next year.
“But I think we can look back knowing that we all gave it 100 percent, and I think that’s all that really matters.”
Like Grehan, he wants to be in Co Clare as the event moves to even numbered years so the Walker and Curtis Cups don’t conflict with the World Amateur Team Championships.
Trailing 6.5-5.5 after day one, when they won the opening foursomes session 3-1, Great Britain and Ireland tied the Sunday foursomes 2-2 to trail 8.5-7.5 heading into the final 10 singles.
Connor Graham managed to halve his match with US amateur champion Mason Howell and Tiernan beat world number 9 Michael LaSasso 2&1, having lost his only other match 7&6 to veteran Stewart Hagestad on Saturday.
But with his County Louth clubmate Grehan, losing 5&4 to Amateur champion Ethan Fang in singles, having followed a foursomes win and a singles tie on Saturday with another foursomes defeat on Sunday, it was a bittersweet weekend.
Grehan teamed up with Eliot Baker to beat Fang and Preston Stout 1 up in the Saturday foursomes before going to halve his singles with Fang on Saturday afternoon.
The reinstated amateur lost 2&1 with Baker to US amateur champion Howell and Jacob Modleski in Sunday’s foursomes, then fell to Fang in singles to end the week with one and a half points from his four matches
While they lost by eight points, Great Britain and Ireland were just one down in five matches and two down in another two just 90 minutes before the Americans closed them out.
The USA has now won five consecutive Walker Cups since five Irishman —Gavin Moynihan, Paul Dunne, Cormac Sharvin, Jack Hume and Gary Hurley – helped GB&I to victory at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2015.
“We came here with a focus to raise our standard, to emulate what’s only been done twice in 100 years, which is to beat the US (away from home),” Great Britain and Ireland captain Dean Robertson said.
“But Nathan’s (Smith’s) team, big congratulations to them. They’ve played fantastic.
“We were in it. We fought hard. Our foursomes performances were exceptional. But for a few putts, I think the big difference for us is we need to be better putters.”
