Stuart Grehan of Great Britain & Ireland reacts to his win during the Saturday Singles on Day One of the Walker Cup at Lahinch Golf Club on September 5, 2026 in Lahinch, County Clare. (Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
LAHINCH’s home support has helped Team Great Britain and Ireland to a 6.5 to 5.5 lead over Team USA following day one of the Walker Cup with the atmosphere described as “like an Open championship”.
For only the third time, the Walker Cup is taking place in Ireland with Lahinch welcoming 8,000 supporters for the first day of action on the fairways.
Visitors have travelled from near and far to once again witness Lahinch excel as a sporting venue, following on from the success of the 2019 Irish Open.
Tullamore’s Stuart Grehan had a considerable amount of the 8,000 supporters following his every move on day one of the Walker Cup. He gave them plenty to cheer about including overcoming the world’s number one amateur Preston Stout in his afternoon singles.
He came from two down with three holes to defeat Preston. Grehan who is the sole Irish golfer in action led his team in both of Saturday’s sessions. Alongside partner, Eliot Daly of England they halved their opening foursomes match with Stout and Ethan Fang as the hosts took a 2.5 to 1.5 lead after the morning’s matches.
Speaking after putting a fourteen footer to win on the eighteenth at Lahinch, Grehan said of the home support, “It is incredible, everything good we do is echoed and we hear it around the golf course so it spurs you on as well, it is really cool”.
Captain, Dean Robertson explained why he gave Grehan the honour of leading out their team. “I think as the amateur champion, you know, I felt it was a fitting position. As the Irishman in the team, and given how proud he is to not only represent Great Britain but to be here in front of the Lahinch and Irish fans, it’s something he’s going remember forever. You know, I was back in the matches. I was following different matches, but the noise out there was like an Open Championship. It really was. It was fantastic”.
Unforgettable experiences have already been formed for Stuart. “It’s obviously really cool and it’s a bit claustrophobic really at times. It feels like the crowds are really, really close to you. But it’s really cool. Like you’re nearly hitting out on tunnels on every hole. So I thought it was amazing. I enjoyed every minute of it. I obviously got off to a bit of a struggle in the afternoon but after that I kind of got into it but it was amazing. Like Dean said, it’s something I’ll always remember the for rest of my life”.
Playing in his second straight Walker Cup, Scotland’s Niall Sheils Donegan outlined how the Lahinch factor can be used to help golfers. “I think this is obviously different from Cypress last year. There is a lot more people out here, so you can really tell when there is something going on ahead of you. We’re walking down 13 you just hear the biggest roar of your life over on 18 and I go to my caddie, I think Stuart just won that. But I think it’s amazing to hear those cheers from across the golf course. Just gives that you little extra boost of energy when you might be a little bit down or you just want a little bit extra momentum. I think it’s something if you approach it the right way, it can be very positive”.
Great Britain and Ireland rallied late in the singles session on the opening day of the 51st Walker Cup match at Lahinch to take a narrow 6½-5½ lead against the United States of America.
Dean Robertson’s side are bidding to win the Walker Cup for the first time since 2015 and were cheered on by 8,000 fans at the iconic links on the coast of County Clare.
Niall Sheils Donegan was the stand-out performer for the hosts earning two points from his two matches while Ethan Fang delivered 1½ points for the USA.
GB&I made a good start to the match by taking a 2½-1½ lead after a closely contested opening foursomes session.
Three of the four matches went the distance with Donegan and Josh Hill delivering the most convincing performance of the morning for the hosts, defeating Josiah Gilbert and Ryder Cowan 4&3 in the bottom match of the draw.
Stuart Grehan and Eliot Baker gained a half point for GB&I against world number one Preston Stout and Ethan Fang after the 2025 Amateur Champion pushed his par putt wide on the 18th. Connor Graham and Tyler Weaver then secured a full point with a one-hole victory over Jay Leng Jr and Kihei Akina thanks largely to a strong putting display by the Scot.
Luke Poulter and Sam Easterbrook produced a determined fightback against Miles Russell and Tyler Watts, recovering from three down after the 10th to draw level by winning the 12th, 13th and 17th holes, but Russell responded at the last, holing a clutch birdie putt to secure the point for the USA.
The loudest cheer in Lahinch rung around the 18th hole arena as home favourite Grehan fought back from three holes down after five holes in the first singles match to defeat world number one Stout on the last with a birdie four.
The visitors bounced back quickly, however, by securing three points in succession thanks to Fang winning by one hole over Jack Whaley, Leng Jr defeating Weaver 2&1 and William Jennings also edging out Graham by one hole to take the lead in the match for the first time at 4½-3½.
Stewart Hagestad extended his remarkable singles record in the Walker Cup to notch up his eighth win out of nine singles matches by overcoming Ben Bolton 2&1. The American took control of the match with a birdie at the par-3 11th before extending his lead at the 13th with a birdie three and closing out the dual on the 17th to make it 5½-3½.
Despite the two-point deficit, GB&I rallied to secure the final three points of the session and lead the match overall at 6½-5½. Sheils Donegan impressed against Watts to win 3&2 with Baker following up with a victory by the same margin against Josiah Gilbert before Poulter rounded proceedings off by beating Russell 2&1.
