PEBBLE BEACH — It had already been a dramatic first day of the 50th Walker Cup at Cypress Point Club. The team from Great Britain & Ireland was predictably strong in foursomes, taking points in three of four matches on Saturday morning. Then after lunch, the Americans stormed to early leads in most of the eight singles clashes, only for GB&I to rally to take 2½ points and keep the competition tied.
One match remained late Saturday afternoon to be settled on Cypress’ gorgeously lit, uphill 18th, and that’s when the proceedings got surreal and thrilling when a deer and Bryson DeChambeau showed up.
Yes, you read that right.
The dear made itself known first. There are many of the creatures that roam amid the trees at Cypress Point, hardly bothered by the intermittent play at one of America’s most exclusive clubs. But as the final pairing—American Jase Summy versus GB&I’s Eliot Baker, who were tied with a key point on the line—made their way to the green, a deer that was meatier than Bambi suddenly burst onto the upper fairway. The crowd of hundreds gasped, and the deer sprinted across the green, through a bunker, made a sharp left turn and ran back toward the gallery gathered in the fairway.
Otherwise calling the scene “cool,” Summy said afterward, “There's so many people gathered around there, and seeing that deer come through there, I hope no one got hit.”
There were seconds of concern that someone could be head-butted into the ground. Instead, the deer deftly weaved through the crowd and disappeared.
Almost simultaneously, but just as surprising, DeChambeau nonchalantly ducked under the ropes behind the green and made his way to the U.S. squad huddled under a tree. As Summy and Baker lined up their respective birdie and par putts—the two-time U.S. Open champion and former Walker Cupper shook hands with captain Nathan Smith and hugged U.S. mid-amateur stalwart Stewart Hagestad.
Bryson DeChambeau (in blue shirt) claps for the U.S. team as they celebrate Jase Summy's 1-up victory.
Michael Reaves/R&A
“That was pretty special,” Smith said before adding with a grin, “I'd say my first thought is, I hadn't seen him in years, and he's gotten a lot bigger.”
DeChambeau, a Northern California native, made his only Walker Cup appearance in a loss to host GB&I in 2015. For anyone prone to superstition, the LIV golfer who will play for the U.S. in the Ryder Cup in three weeks, redeemed himself as a good luck mascot on Saturday.
Baker missed his putt, and when Summy coaxed his putt to inches, the American won the match 1-up and the U.S. edged into a one-point lead, 6½-5½, with the remaining 14 points up for grabs on Sunday. The battle will continue in the morning with four foursomes matches, followed by the 10 players from each team facing off in afternoon singles.
DeChambeau wasn’t done with the American squad after the last match. He mingled with the players in their locker room and gave them a pep talk.
“He just walked in,” Preston Stout said. “Definitely wasn't expecting that. That was kind of cool. He gave us a little pep talk, which was pretty sweet.
“Hopefully this gives him a little motivation and fires him up for the Ryder Cup in a few weeks.”
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The Americans, who are looking to win their fifth straight Walker Cup and 40th overall, are in a far better position than they were two years ago at St. Andrews, when they trailed by three points heading into Sunday. The U.S., however, stormed back on the Old Course by earning three points in foursomes—considered their weaker format—and then dominated singles, 7-3.
This time, the Americans have a slight cushion, and GB&I has to fare better than it did while going one-on-one on Saturday.
Four of the five American wins didn’t reach 18 holes, and there were two big routs—the 34-year-old Hagestad making six birdies, including concessions, over 13 holes in a 7-and-6 victory over Gavin Tiernan, and Oklahoma State star Preston Stout beating Charlie Forster, 6 and 5.
World Amateur No. 1 Jackson Koivun contributed the first singles point to the U.S. with a 4-and-3 win against Tyler Weaver, and reigning U.S. Am champ Mason Howell defeated Luke Poulter, 3 and 2.
“I can't really say there was much of a message,” Smith said of what the discussion was over lunch. “I think the guys knew what they had to do. There were a lot of points—long way to go. There's still a long way to go, and there were a lot of points out there this afternoon. We just knew we had to have a good session, and they delivered.”
GB&I got its two full points from Connor Graham, a 3-and-2 winner over Ben James, and Niall Shiels-Donegan, the popular Scot and Bay Area resident who prevailed in a see-saw match against Jacob Modleski.
“This afternoon the Americans played fantastic,” GB&I captain Dean Robertson said.
“It was a brilliant day,” he added. “We just fell short on a few putts there, and things went the other way. If we'd holed a couple more, things might be a little bit different. Slightly, slightly disappointed that we are one point behind. However, exceptionally proud of the way that the team performed.”
For Sunday morning, both teams made a single change: Howell and Modleski will go for the Americans, replacing Hagestad and James; and GB&I is sending out Shiels Donegan with Cameron Adam in the place of Baker and Stuart Grehan.
In singles, GB&I would hope to get blue on the board early with a first four of Weaver, Shiels Donegan, Poulter and Graham. The U.S. counters, respectively, with Koivun, Tommy Morrison, Howell and Stout. The anchor match is Modleski against Dominic Clemons.