For the first time since 2017, and just the eighth time in history, Great Britain & Ireland has won the Llandudno International Trophy following a 16.5-9.5 victory over the United States in the 32nd PGA Cup at The K Club.
“I am absolutely amazed by the quality of the team I have had this week,” said GB&I Captain David Scott. “The strength and depth. Even though on paper we weren’t as strong, the heart in the team is tremendous. I am delighted for them.”
GB&I entered Sunday’s singles matches with an 11.5-4.5 lead, needing just two points to win. While the result seemed inevitable, the Americans did not go down without a fight, splitting the singles session at 5-5.
“They fought really hard,” said U.S. Captain Ben Polland. “Clearly not the way we wanted to finish up. They still played well, a lot of good there in splitting today’s session. It was better than what we’ve done the last two days, but we were just outplayed by GB&I. In these formats, at the end of the day, those that make putts end up on top, and that’s what they were doing.”
Michael Kartrude (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) led things off with a down-to-the-wire match against Irishman Simon Thornton, rallying to earn a tie and a half-point for the U.S. after a birdie on the par-5 18th. Kartrude was 2-up through 12 after birdies at the 8th and 10th and a double-bogey from Thornton at the par-4 9th. Thornton then went par-birdie-birdie on holes 13 through 15 to go up one, and the pair traded bogeys on holes 16 and 17.
Zach Haynes (Bowling Green, Ky.) continued his success from day two, striking early for a 2&1 win over GB&I’s Ashley Mansell. Haynes, who finished with a 2-1-1 record for the U.S., had four birdies, was 4-up through 8 and never lost the lead.
Graeme Robertson responded with GB&I’s first full-point of the session, winning 3&1 over Brian Bergstol (Nazareth, Pa.). Bergstol was 1-up through 7 before three-straight birdies from Robertson on holes 7 through 9 flipped the match in the Scot’s favor. Robertson finished his PGA Cup debut leading GB&I with a spotless 5-0-0 record.
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Reigning PGA Professional Champion Jesse Droemer (Houston, Texas) kept the Americans’ hopes alive with a strong 4&3 victory over Gavin Hay. Tied through nine, Droemer pulled ahead with a par at the 10th and a birdie at the 11th as Hay picked up his ball on both holes. Another bogey from Hay on the par-4 13th was followed by a birdie from Droemer at the par-4 15th, ending the match with a point for the U.S.
“We did get off to a good start,” said Polland. “We liked the matchups when we saw them on paper last night and the guys were fired up this morning. Everyone was playing with the belief that we could run the tables today. You need to have that attitude no matter what. GB&I played extraordinarily well. They were not given much, they just made birdies and took it.”
But a historic comeback victory was not to be Sunday. Now needing just a half-point to take the PGA Cup, Toby Hunt’s 3&2 win over Brandon Bingaman (Plano, Texas) would seal the GB&I victory.
“The putt I holed on 15 was a massive relief,” said Hunt. “It was a good up and down from the back edge. [GB&I Captain] David Scott told me that I had secured it, so that made the drive down 16 a bit easier. In fairness to Brandon, he hit a lot of good shots out there, just so relieved to get the win. It feels great after getting stuffed two years ago.”
GB&I took two more points with Matt Ford’s 2&1 win over Garrett Sapp (Cypress, Calif.) and Harry Casey’s 4&3 victory over Austin Hurt (Bainbridge Island, Wash.).
The U.S. took 2.5 more points to split the singles session. Ben Kern (Columbus, Ohio) took down Gareth Davies, 3&2, while Tyler Collet (Vero Beach, Fla.) won 5&4 over James Freeman. The final match saw Ryan Lenahan (New Hudson, Mich.) go the distance with Ben Amor for a tie.
“I’m proud of their effort,” said Polland as he reflected on the week. “I’m proud of how open they were to everything I put in front of them. Everyone had a great attitude the entire week despite a lot of things not going our way. All the partners and spouses were getting along great, the support from the staff and the officers that were here. All in all, the attitude and everything was fantastic. I can’t really ask much more from anybody.”
Source: www.pga.com
