Mason Howell, U.S. rally in singles to take 1-point Walker Cup lead

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell birdied both par 3s along the ocean at Cypress Point to close out his match and Jase Summy won twice Saturday as the Americans rallied in singles to build a 6 1/2-5 1/2 lead over Great Britain & Ireland after the opening day of the Walker Cup.

Howell earned his spot on the U.S. team when the 18-year-old high school senior in Georgia won the U.S. Amateur last month up the coast at the Olympic Club.

He sat during the morning foursomes session, when GB&I built a 3-1 lead, and felt the nerves in the afternoon singles, but only briefly.

Howell was 1 up over Luke Poulter, the Florida junior and son of Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter, when he birdied the short 15th along the ocean, and then holed a 45-foot birdie putt on the iconic 16th hole that requires a tee shot over the ocean to close out the match.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t super nervous on the first tee,” Howell said. “But no, what a day. What a beautiful day out here. It’s been awesome.”

The notorious marine layer over the Monterey Peninsula lifted after the morning session, providing majestic views of Cypress Point, among the most picturesque courses in golf.

And the stars were out for this Walker Cup, returning to Cypress for the first time since 1981. Hal Sutton, who played in those ‘81 matches, was on the course. So was Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Kuchar and Juli Inkster, a three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion.

It was quite the opening day, with GB&I renewing hopes of winning on U.S. soil for the first time in 24 years, winning three of the four alternate-shot matches.

Connor Graham teamed Tyler Weaver to win three straight holes on the back nine as they knocked off top-ranked amateur Jackson Koivun and Tommy Morrison on the 17th hole. Graham also won two matches for GB&I, taking down Ben James in singles.

Stuart Grehan and Eliot Baker held on to win on the 18th against Preston Stout and Ethan Fang. But those same two players for GB&I came within a fraction on inch of staving off the American rally in singles.

Grehan had a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th against Ethan Fang, only for the putt to graze the right edge of the cup as they settled for a halve.

In the final match, Baker was all square with Summy and in trouble left off the tee and left of the green. He chipped to 12 feet, and had to make that when Summy two-putted for par. His par putt looked good all the way until turning off at the last turn.

“We just knew we had to have a good session and they delivered,” U.S. captain Nathan Smith said of his teams winning five of the eight singles matches and halving another.

The Americans have won the last four times — it was at St. Andrews in 2023 — and have dominated the series since it began in 1924. The last GB&I victory away from home was at Ocean Forest on the Georgia coast in 2001.

Niall Shiels Donegan, the Scot who grew up in San Francisco, had another cheering section as he beat Jacob Modleski for the second time — he also beat Modleski in 19 holes in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur.

Shiels Donegan glanced over at a leaderboard early on the back nine and saw it filled with American blowouts. Koivun took down Weaver, 4 and 3. Stewart Hagestad and Preston Stout both closed out their matches on the 13th hole.

Shiels Donegan and Graham did their part in winning points and keeping GB&I close.

“I saw the board left of 11 as I was walking down and saw we weren’t performing the best in singles,” Shiels Donegan said. “I think for me in that situation I got a bit more like I have to do my job, let’s really focus on getting my job done, get any point for the team and see what we can do for the rest of the week.”

Sunday’s final session has four foursomes matches in the morning followed by all 10 players competing in singles.