LAHINCH, Ireland — It was the day before the Walker Cup. The wind was howling, the rain was coming and going, the conditions were ugly but practice was needed. The Great Britain and Ireland team was on the back nine at Lahinch. But one player practiced alone.
His name was Josh Hill.
The lowest ranked player on either side, barely inside the top 100 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, would finish the week by holing the putt that clinched the biggest comeback in the history of the Walker Cup, coming from three points behind to win 13½ to 12½.
But on the back nine on Friday, he practiced alone.
Warren Little
“There was a couple of shots I just wanted to see” he told Golf Digest, amid the cheering and chanting of his teammates as they carried the Walker Cup out of the media center.
“I played a couple of holes with Niall [Sheils Donegan] as I knew he was going to be my partner but I wanted to see some things I was working on in practice out on the course, so I played on my own.”
“Did you see them then?” I, of course, asked.
“Yeah” he smiled.
However, the preparations for the Great Britain and Ireland team weren’t simply focused on this week in Lahinch, they started almost immediately after their loss at Cypress Point 12 months ago.
It was then that Captain Dean Robertson turned his attention to Lahinch and 2026, crafting a plan that would see his side stave off a run of five straight U.S. victories and ensure the Walker Cup stayed on the east side of the Atlantic Ocean.
David Cannon
The key for him and his team was a training camp in Ireland in July. Focused around the South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch in the last week of July, Robertson requested that every available player make the trip. The goal was to practice and compete on the course, get to know each other and highlight players Robertson and his staff felt could earn a captain’s pick for the team in September.
And that week is why Hill ended up on the 18th green late Sunday with a putt to win the Walker Cup.
“The South of Ireland most definitely cemented my thoughts.” Robertson said. “When I spoke to [Josh’s] coach at Tennessee… I knew he had a desire to come and be a part of the Walker Cup.”
Desire is one thing but actions speak louder than words and Hill had to prove his value to the team over the summer. And so, after finishing third at NCAA regionals, Hill and his Tennessee teammates headed to La Costa for the NCAA Championships in early June.
He battled, carding rounds of 74-72-74-72 to finish 49th. His college career was over.
“I feel like I underachieved a lot in college” Hill said Sunday at Lahinch. “And that only just drove me to prove my worth this week.”
While some may have blown off steam after completing four years of college golf and a degree in sports management, Hill had a goal. And his goal had a deadline. So the 22-year-old flew from La Costa, California across the world to Scotland to compete in the St. Andrews Links Trophy.
He knew Robertson would be there and he was eager to earn a spot on his team.
Less than two days after holing the last putt of his college career, Hill was walking the fairways of the New Course in St. Andrews. He opened with a 71 and then shot a 68 on the Old Course to make the cut. Ultimately he finished 29th out of 160 players but his efforts were noticed by Robertson.
Hill was invited on the scouting trip at the South of Ireland Championship the next month and it was there he truly earned his place.
David Cannon
“Josh's personality was huge.” Robertson said with the Walker Cup next to him. “What he brings to a team environment was huge. But then Josh was the outstanding performer in our training camp, and he was the outstanding performer in some really challenging conditions.”
So while some eyebrows were raised when Robertson selected Hill as one of his captain’s picks in August, it was clear he had earned his place.
So there he was, practicing alone on Friday, the day before the Walker Cup started.
I couldn’t help but think of irony, two days later, as Hill walked down the 18th fairway. This time he definitely wasn’t alone. Instead, he was surrounded by 8,000 spectators, nine teammates and his captain. Again, in some really challenging conditions. However, the conditions came in the form of pressure. The most pressure a 22-year-old amateur could ever face.
“I got up there and Dean came up to me by the bunker, and I asked him, do I need a half point or a full point?” Hill said, with his smiling captain next to him.
“He said a full point, so I was like, all right, let's step up and hit a golf shot.”
“And I hit a golf shot.”
Ross Parker/R&A
It so happens that golf shot may end up being one of the greatest shots in the 104-year history of the Walker Cup. The shot that clinched the biggest comeback in the history of the matches. The shot that ensured the most coveted title in amateur golf stays in Great Britain and Ireland.
But the right to hit that shot was earned. In June, in July and on Friday. Not just on Sunday.