Sheffield golfers Alex Fitzpatrick and Barclay Brown unable to upset the odds in Walker Cup

The United States (USA) produced a commanding singles display to retain the trophy on Sunday with a 14-12 win in Florida.

The two-day biennial competition is played between 10-man teams made up of the best amateur golfers from Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) and the USA.

On both days there are four foursome matches followed by a series of singles, with all rounds played over 18 holes.

The Americans took a 7-5 lead into the final day but that advantage was halved in the morning foursomes.

Mark Power and John Murphy were 1-up winners against Pierceson Coody and John Pak, while Matty Lamb and Jack Dyer romped to a 6&5 victory over Stewart Hagestad and Tyler Strafaci.

With Angus Flanagan and Rotherham’s Ben Schmidt claiming a half against Davis Thompson and Cole Hammer, GB&I closed to 8 1/2-7 1/2.

However, they failed to carry that momentum into the afternoon singles.

Austin Eckroat thrashed Power 7&6 in the top match and Coody overcame Fitzpatrick, with fellow Hallamshire Golf Club member Brown putting a half on the board for GB&I against Quade Cummins.

Wins for Joe Long, Lamb and Flanagan kept GB&I in the contest but Ricky Costillo completed a perfect four points out of four with a 2&1 win over Murphy and Hammer beat Schmidt 4&3 to get the US to the required 13 points.

An outright win was confirmed for the hosts in Florida when Stewart Hagestad beat Ben Jones 4&2.

With the result settled, Jack Dyer held on for a 1-up win over Strafaci on the final green.

GB&I captain Stuart Wilson told Sky Sports: “It’s been a great weekend of golf.

“The guys came out fighting and tried to equip themselves as best as they could, unfortunately it just wasn’t their weekend.

“From our perspective we’ve maybe let the Americans get away with a bit too much, a few slack shots here and there.

“Hats off to the USA team for pulling the victory off.”

Wake Forest student Fitzpatrick can look forward to taking part in the 2021 Valspar Championship – a PGA Tour event – after he won a prestigious collegiate event in March.