The U.S. Men’s National Golf Team won the Walker Cup in England on Sept. 6, defending the title they won two years prior.
The men’s team completed the tournament in Hoylake, England, with a score of 15.5, edging out the British-Irish team’s score of 10.5.
The U.S. team was captained by Nathaniel Crosby and featured the top amateur golfers from across the country. Crosby was pleased with the team’s play, especially following a dominant streak on Sunday afternoon.
“The singles (on Sunday) were amazing,” Crosby told Golf.com. “The guys played great.”
The GB-I team took the lead by two points on day one, but the U.S. team made up the deficit by dominating the remaining matches on Sunday. The U.S. won all but two of the singles matches held on Sunday, according to Golf.com.
This is the first time the U.S. Walker Cup team has won a matchup in an away contest in 12 years, according to Golf.com.
U.S. team members Stewart Hagestad (5 and 3) and Cole Hammer (6 and 5) both had convincing wins, though the crucial point came from John Augenstein that put him 4 and 3 over Thomas Plumb from England.
"I did not know that my match this afternoon was the clinching point," Augenstein told Today’s Golfer. "I mean, it really doesn't matter who clinches it. The fact is that we're a team, and we won the Walker Cup for each other and for the United States."
The victory brought the U.S. record in the Walker Cup to a mark of 37-9-1.
Micah Johnston ‘22 is a journalism and media studies double major who has written for The Cluster since his freshman year at Mercer. He has written on and reported for Georgia Public Broadcasting, The Macon Telegraph and The Macon Newsroom on a variety of topics. He received the Center for Collaborative Journalism’s Junior Honors Award for the 2020-2021 academic year. Micah’s other interests include obsessively following Braves and Mariners baseball, constantly listening to all kinds of music and probably eating junk food.
