Showing posts with label Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. Show all posts

9/13/2015

Dunne Helps Seal Walker Cup


Great Britain and Ireland regained the Walker Cup in comprehensive fashion at Royal Lytham on Sunday, securing the points required against the United States with six matches still to finish.

Leading 10-6 after the morning foursomes, the home side needed just three and a half points from the 10 singles to secure a fifth win from the last six contests on home soil.

And they did so at the earliest possible opportunity thanks to victories for Ashley Chesters, Cormac Sharvin and Jimmy Mullen and a half from Paul Dunne in the top four matches.

Chesters was sent out first once more and made it three and a half points from four by beating Jordan Niebrugge, who lost all three of his matches just two months after finishing sixth in the Open at St Andrews.

Sharvin then saw off 52-year-old Mike McCoy 4&3 before Mullen, who had partnered Chesters to two foursomes wins, beat Denny McCarthy to become the first GB&I player to have a perfect 4-0 record since Paul Casey and Luke Donald at Nairn in 1999.

That left Dunne to secure a half against world number two Maverick McNealy, who missed from five feet for birdie on the 18th to keep the biennial contest between the best amateurs from both sides of the Atlantic alive.

Captain Nigel Edwards struggled to put into words what it meant to lead his side to victory for the second time in three attempts.

"Gosh. It's great," the 47-year-old Welshman said. "At Royal Aberdeen (in 2011) we were up against it until the death but the boys at the top of the order went out fast as we needed them to do."

Asked about his perfect record, the 21-year-old Mullen said: "It did not matter as long as the team won, but to win all my matches is the icing on the cake."

Dunne, who led the Open after 54 holes before fading on the final day, added: "I will take winning over 30th place every day. It's so much better to do it as a team. Nigel has been a fantastic captain and inspired us from start to finish."

United States captain John Miller, who curiously sent NCAA and US Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau out last in the singles, said: "I am very proud of everyone to a man. They played hard and fought hard and lost with grace and dignity, and that's not easy to do.

"Nigel and his boys outplayed us, simple as that. They earned it."

DeChambeau had been on the 10th hole when the contest was decided and went on to beat Gavin Moynihan 6&5.


7/23/2015

St Andrews a Walker Bonus

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Walker Cup captain Nigel Edwards hopes the experiences of amateur golfers in this year's Open at St Andrews will benefit his side.

GB and Ireland take on the USA at Royal Lytham in September, with Welshman Edwards finalising his team next month.

It is likely to feature Ireland's Paul Dunne, who was joint 30th, and England's Ashley Chesters who tied in 12th place at St Andrews.

"They both loved it but I think they were both disappointed," said Edwards.

"They felt that they could have got a little bit more from themselves, probably I guess Paul more so than Ashley simply because of the position Paul was in after three rounds."

Dunne was leading the tournament after three days, but had a tough final round as he slipped down the field.

"I think Ashley would have liked to have got into the top 10 - he played pretty well all week," added Edwards.

"Obviously Paul going into the final round in the last group and teeing off last felt that he could have done a lot better.

"He was disappointed finishing with a [round of] 78 and I guess it shows the standard of amateur golf that these players are thinking like that and performing how they are."

Edwards has captained UK & Ire twice before, winning at Royal Aberdeen in 2011 and losing in Long Island in 2013.

He has had his provisional Walker Cup squad at Royal Lytham this week in preparation for September's competition.