It was honours even between Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America as the two sides finished level at 2-2 after the morning foursomes on day one of the 47th Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool.
Both captains were satisfied with the performances of their teams during play this morning ahead of a crucial session of singles matches this afternoon.
“It was a great morning for both sides,” said Craig Watson, captain of Great Britain and Ireland. “The course is playing night and day from what it has done in the practice rounds but there was a lot of good golf played. I can’t grumble with the score and it was a really fair test of golf this morning.”
“We had a little bit of a slow start but we wound up scoring it and did pretty good from where we started,” said Nathaniel Crosby, captain of the USA. “We’ve had trouble in the past with alternate shot so a 2-2 start is reasonable especially after being down so early.”
Match 1: Alex Fitzpatrick and Conor Purcell vs. John Augenstein and Andy Ogletree
In the first match this morning, a par on the opening hole was enough for Alex Fitzpatrick and Conor Purcell to go 1-up after Andy Ogletree went out of bounds from the left-hand rough leading to a double bogey for the 21-year-old and his playing partner John Augenstein.
The Americans found themselves 2-down immediately after with Fitzpatrick and Purcell picking up a birdie at the second, while a par for the home side was enough at the 5th to extend the lead to three holes.
Augenstein and Ogletree found themselves in trouble again at the 8th hole and a resulting bogey left the opportunity for Fitzpatrick and Purcell to go 4-up with a par shortly before the turn, only for the GB&I duo to drop a hole at the 10th.
Any hopes of an American fightback appeared short-lived after another double-bogey at the 12th restored the lead back to four holes but they were buoyed soon after by winning the 13th and 15th holes to cut the deficit in half.
Nevertheless, Fitzpatrick and Purcell held out over the remaining holes to close out a 2&1 win and put the first point on the board for GB&I.
Match 2: Sandy Scott and Euan Walker vs. John Pak and Isaiah Salinda
The second foursomes out on the course saw Sandy Scott and Euan Walker halve the opening three holes with John Pak and Isaiah Salinda before making a breakthrough with a birdie at the short 4th hole to move 1-up.
The match turned on its head after the Scottish duo conceded at the 7th and 9th holes to go 1-down at the turn but they immediately responded with a birdie at the 10th to level the encounter.
The next three holes proved pivotal after Scott and Walker made bogeys at the 11th and 12th before the Americans extended their lead at the 13th with a birdie to go 3-up.
Despite a superb 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th hole from the Scots, Pak and Salinda held out for a 2&1 win.
Match 3: Conor Gough and Harry Hall vs. Akshay Bhatia and Stewart Hagestad
The all-English pairing of Conor Gough and Harry Hall were given an early advantage in their match against Akshay Bhatia and Stewart Hagestad after the Americans conceded on the second hole, only to be pegged back to all-square on the following hole by a fantastic eagle putt from Bhatia at the long par 5.
They won the next two holes however, Hall birdieing the 4th and securing a par at the 5th to go 2-up after their opponents could only manage a double bogey, only to drop a hole after bogeying the 8th.
Gough and Hall went 2-up at the 14th after the Americans conceded before the teams traded holes over the 16th and 17th to give GB&I another point thanks to a 2&1 victory.
Match 4: Thomas Plumb and Tom Sloman vs. Alex Smalley and Brandon Wu
The American pairing of Alex Smalley and Brandon Wu were never behind in their foursomes match against Thomas Plumb and Tom Sloman.
They went 1-up at the 7th after securing their par and never looked back, going 2-up at the 10th with a birdie. Plumb and Sloman checked the Americans’ stride by winning the 12th but restored their lead at the 15th with a birdie to go 2-up, a lead they held onto until the 17th hole, where the match concluded.
