Walker Cup: Great Britain and Ireland take lead after opening morning foursomes

They came in their droves, playing the role of the 11th man to Great Britain and Ireland’s quest to finally halt the recent dominance of the United States in the Walker Cup, and the opening day’s foursomes on the Old Course brought a dramatic start which ultimately saw the home team claim a hard-earned 2½ to 1½ advantage.Stuart Grehan, the Amateur champion and the lone Irishman on the 10-man GB&I team, had the honour – and pressure – of hitting the opening tee shot. “It was unreal. I was very nervous before I got on the tee, but when I got on the tee, I was actually quite calm, just went into my process,” he recalled.And Grehan’s foursomes with team-mate Eliot Baker against world number one Preston Stout and Ethan Fang, last year’s Amateur champion, would set the tone for a morning’s golf of great shot-making and a little bit of needle thrown in. That top match was only resolved on the 18th green where Stout’s birdie putt from 12 feet missed which left the match all-square for a halved point each.“These are moments that I’ll remember forever. I’ve got to relish it and take it all in,” said Grehan, the Offaly man who plays out of Co Louth.READ MOREIn the bottom match, Niall Sheils Donegan and Josh Hill combined for a comprehensive 4 and 3 win over Ryder Cowan and Josiah Gilbert. That match also included an edge, after Shiels Donegan swept aside his short putt on the ninth green believing it was conceded only for the Americans to claim the hole. That reduced the GB&I lead from four holes to three, but Shiels Donegan and Hill retained their composure to close the deal on the 15th green.“I had a little bit of brainlessness from me on nine, but it wouldn’t really punish us too much. We did a great job in defence of that,” said Shiels Donegan.Connor Graham, the Scottish teenager making his third Walker Cup appearance, teamed up with Tyler Weaver, the world number three, for a one-hole win over Jay Leng Jnr and Kihei Akina.The lone USA win came at the death, on the 18th green, where Tyler Watts holed a 16-footer for birdie and Sam Easterbrook’s 15-footer for a halved match horseshoed out. That finale meant Watts and Miles Russell claimed a one-hole win over Easterbrook and Luke Poulter, the son of Ryder Cup star Ian.Grehan’s role of leader – with the huge crowd support – had the 33-year-old again tasked with going out first in the afternoon singles, where he will take on Stout in the top singles match.Foursomes: GB&I 2½ USA 1½Stuart Grehan/Eliot Baker halved with Preston Stout/Ethan FangConnor Graham/Tyler Weaver bt Jay Leng Jnr/Kihei Akina 1 holeLuke Poulter/Sam Easterbrook lost to Miles Russell/Tyler Watts 1 holeNiall Sheils Donegan/Josh Hill bt Josiah Gilbert/Ryder Cowan 4&3Afternoon singles2.02pm: Grehan v Stout2.12pm: Jack Whaley v Fang2.22pm: Graham v William Jennings2.32pm: Weaver v Leng Jnr2.42pm: Ben Bolton v Stewart Hagestad2.52pm: Poulter v Russell3.02pm: Sheils Donegan v Watts3.12pm: Baker v Gilbert