Three Patriot alums played on the 2023 Walker Cup team this past weekend as they took on Great Britain and Ireland at the Old Course at St. Andrews: Dylan Manante, Preston Summerhays, and David Ford.
The Great Britain and Ireland team started off in great style, taking the first-round foursomes matches 3-1. The USA team did not make up any ground in the afternoon singles matches and trailed by three points. Team USA’s top men’s amateur players roared back on Sunday to clinch a 14.5 – 11.5 victory on the iconic Old Course.
The Americans, captained by Mike McCoy, won three of the four Sunday foursomes and seven of the 10 singles matches to claim their fourth consecutive Walker Cup victory and extend their commanding overall record to 39 wins, nine losses and one draw.
Captain Mike McCoy took a gamble, sending out his two best players, top-ranked amateur Gordan Sargent and reigning U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap together in Sunday morning foursomes. It paid off as Sargent and Dunlap secured a 1-up victory, and the U.S. won two of the other four matches to close the gap to just one point entering Sunday’s final singles session.
Sargent and Dunlap came up clutch again in the afternoon. Dunlap climbed back from three down with four to play and made a birdie putt on 18 to grind out a crucial half-point against Barclay Brown while Sargent also birdied the Old Course’s famous finisher to beat John Gough 1 up. At the end of the day, USA ended up with the win: 14.5 to 11.5.
Congratulations to the entire team!