United States easily wins third straight Walker Cup, leaving another mark at historic Merion

Americans easily win third straight Walker Cup

ARDMORE, Pa. — Nearly 80 years after Bobby Jones accepted a winner’s trophy on the first fairway at Merion’s East Course, the victorious U.S. Walker Cup team left its mark on the venerable club.

The Americans won their third straight Walker Cup on Sunday, building a six-point advantage after the morning alternate-shot matches and claiming five singles matches and halving another for a 16½-9½ victory over Great Britain and Ireland.

The easy win was in stark contrast to the one-point decisions of the last three biennial competitions.

U.S. captain Buddy Marucci, a Merion member, couldn’t contain his emotions at the closing ceremony, held on the same spot where, in 1930, Jones accepted the trophy after winning the U.S. Amateur and completing the Grand Slam.

“I don’t know that there’s anything greater in golf for a person like myself than to, No. 1, captain the team, and to do it at home,” Marucci said. “I just don’t know that there’s any more; I don’t know that there’s another chapter to the story.”

Americans Rickie Fowler and Peter Uihlein went 4-0 in their weekend matches, and Bud Cauley finished 3-0-1. Cameron Tringale posted an 8-and-6 victory that ranked as the third-largest winning margin by a U.S. player in singles.

Fowler’s victory punctuated a solid amateur career. Tringale’s victory ensured the U.S. would retain the title, and Uihlein’s 3-and-1 victory over Stiggy Hodgson won it outright.

The U.S. team’s margin of victory was the largest since an 18-6 win in 1997, at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y. The Americans lead the series 34-7-1.

GB&I captain Colin Dalgleish dropped his second straight and was openly disappointed.

“I kind of feel that the 10 players we had here are better players and played better than the result would suggest, which is very frustrating for everybody involved here,” Dalgleish said.

Morgan Hoffmann and Brendan Gielow also delivered singles wins for Marucci, who added his second straight title as U.S. captain to his 1997 win as a player.

“They gave me more than I will ever be able to give back,” the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur champion said of his team.

Scotland’s Gavin Dear tried to ignite a GB&I comeback in the afternoon singles, beating two-time U.S. Walker Cup team member Brian Harman 3-and-2, in the first match. Sam Hutsby, Tommy Fleetwood and Niall Kearney supplied GB&sI’s other singles wins.

But the Americans, led by Oklahoma State teammates Fowler and Uihlein, were just too strong.

Fowler delayed turning pro until after his second Walker Cup stint, but didn’t have to spend too much time on the East Course. He played the 18th hole just once, Sunday morning when he and Cauley prevailed 1-up.

“This is the reason I stayed an amateur,” said the 20-year-old from Murrieta, Calif., whose first pro event will be on the Nationwide Tour next week in Idaho. “Being here, in Buddy’s backyard, and winning it tops it all off.”

He finished with a 7-1 Walker Cup record, unbeaten in four foursomes, and 3-1 in singles.

Uihlein was one of the last players selected to the team, and justified his selection.

“I just tried to do the best I could,” the 20-year-old from Orlando said. “It was a pretty special week.”

Uihlein teamed with Nathan Smith, the oldest member of the American squad at 31, for a pair of alternate-shot victories and had wins of 2-and-1 and 3-and-1 in singles.

After three straight losses from 1999-2003, the Americans followed victories at Chicago Golf Club in Illinois and Royal County Down in Northern Ireland with a win at venerable Merion East, which was hosting a record 18th USGA championship.

The U.S. won three straight from 1983-87 as part of an eight-title run between 1973 and 1987. GB&I won three straight titles from 1999-2003, before the current U.S. run.

The U.S. team will go for a fourth straight title in 2011 at Balgownie Links at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland.

Next up for Merion, which hosted a record 18th USGA championship, is the 2013 U.S. Open.