Smalley, USA Win 47th Walker Cup

HOYLAKE, England -- Thanks in part to three points from former Duke men's golf All-American Alex Smalley, the United States won the 47th Walker Cup match after defeating Great Britain and Ireland 15½-10½ at Royal Liverpool on Sunday.

Nearly 11,000 fans flocked to Hoylake over the two-day match which ended with the U.S. winning the Walker Cup away from home for the first time since 2007 at Royal County Down.

"I honestly thought that these guys would let their talent come to the surface," said USA captain Nathainel Crosby. "I liked the idea that the wind was laying down a little bit this afternoon but these guys have been over here for seven or eight days. The singles were amazing. The guys played great. These guys are inseparable and they've got a great memory now. This Walker Cup experience is going to be a memory and a winning memory at that."

Smalley, just the second Blue Devil to compete in the Walker Cup, and his USA team were 7-5 down after the first day of play but responded Sunday to clinch the morning foursomes 2½-1½ and the afternoon singles 8-2 to run out comfortable winners.

The USA retains the trophy after their 19-7 win at Los Angeles Country Club two years ago and now leads the overall series 37-9-1.

Smalley was 3-1 in the Walker Cup, teaming with Stanford's Brandon Wu for a 2&1 win in Saturday's foursome matches. He dropped his Saturday singles match 2&1, but rebounded on Sunday to again win 2&1 with Wu in the foursomes and winning 2&1 in Sunday's singles.

The Walker Cup Match is a biennial 10-man amateur team competition between a team composed of players from Great Britain and Ireland and the USA. It is played over two days with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes matches. The USA leads the overall series 37-9-1.

47th Walker Cup Results

Day One
Foursomes:
Alex Fitzpatrick and Conor Purcell vs. John Augenstein and Andy Ogletree (GB& wins 2&1)
Sandy Scott and Euan Walker vs. John Pak and Isaiah Salinda (USA wins 2&1)
Conor Gough and Harry Hall vs. Akshay Bhatia and Stewart Hagestad (GB&I wins 2&1)
Thomas Plumb and Tom Sloman vs. Alex Smalley and Brandon Wu (USA wins 2&1)

Singles:
Alex Fitzpatrick vs. Cole Hammer (GB&I wins by two holes)
Euan Walker vs. Steven Fisk (GB&I wins by two holes)
Sandy Scott vs. Andy Ogletree (GB&I wins by one hole)
John Augenstein vs. Conor Purcell (USA wins 2&1)
James Sugrue vs. John Pak (USA wins by one hole)
Conor Gough vs. Isaiah Salinda (GB&I wins by two holes)
Coalan Rafferty vs. Alex Smalley (GB&I wins 2&1)
Tom Sloman vs. Brandon Wu (USA wins 4&2)

Day Two
Foursomes:
Alex Fitzpatrick and Conor Purcell vs. Alex Smalley and Brandon Wu (USA wins 2&1)
Sandy Scott and Euan Walker vs. John Augenstein and Andy Ogletree (Halved)
Conor Gough and Harry Hall vs. Akshay Bhatia and Stewart Hagestad (USA wins 3&2)
Thomas Plumb and Tom Sloman vs. Cole Hammer and Steven Fisk (GB&I wins 3&2)

Singles:
Alex Fitzpatrick vs. Isaiah Salinda (USA win by two holes)
Euan Walker vs. John Pak (USA win 2&1)
Sandy Scott vs. Brandon Wu (GB&I win 4&3)
Caolan Rafferty vs. Alex Smalley (USA win 2&1)
Harry Hall vs. Stewart Hagestad (USA win 5&3)
Conor Gough vs. Andy Ogletree (USA win 2&1)
Thomas Plumb vs. John Augenstein (USA win 4&3)
James Sugrue vs. Akshay Bhatia (USA win 4&2)
Conor Purcell vs. Cole Hammer (USA win 6&5)
Tom Sloman vs. Steven Fisk

Final Score
United State def. Great Britain and Ireland, 15½-10½

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Smalley, USA Win 47th Walker Cup

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Alex Smalley

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Smalley, USA Win 47th Walker Cup

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