The United States won the PGA Cup for the third time in a row after defeating GB&I 17.5-8.5 at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon.
The Americans entered Sunday’s final with a 12-4 lead, needing just one point to hold on and 1.5 points to win outright.
Michael Block, John Somers, Ben Polland, Tyler Collet and Brad Marek all won their singles matches for the home team, while Jesse Mueller earned a half-point to round out a strong US team for three days in the biannual tournament. the club’s professional colleagues from GB&I.
“It was the highlight of my professional career,” said US Captain and Honorary President of the PGA of America Jim Richerson. “It’s a really good thing for someone who has never had the experience of being in the PGA Cup. I think the team atmosphere is different.
“With this team situation you have 10 PGA employees working every day at their clubs at home, and they come together as a team. They get to spend time getting to know each other. Their spouses know each other. That’s one of the great things about the game of golf. It is a great link that brings people together. ”
Richerson chose veteran Block to lead off against GB&I’s Craig Lee in Sunday’s first match. Block birdied the par-4 15th and birdied the par-3 16th to go 2-up. Block then birdied the par-5 17th to halve the hole and close out the 2&1 win. Block’s win pushed the Americans to 13 points, ensuring at least the retention of the Llandudno International Trophy.
Block, who started singles Sunday in all three of his PGA Cup appearances, improved his overall record to 3-0-0.
Somers was the next to strike, against England’s Matt Cort. After Cort’s bogey on the par-3 13th tied the match, Somers took control with birdies on the par-4 14th and par-3 16th to go 2-up. Both players made par on the par-5 17th, halving the hole and securing a 2&1 victory for Somers. That point capped the American’s overall victory and was Somers’ third in his first PGA Cup.
Polland, the 2024 PGA Professional champion, continued his great week with a nail-biting one-shot win at GB&I’s Paul McKechnie, winning the 16th and 17th holes to bring the match all square heading to the 18th tee. Poland finished the match with authority when he holed a 28-foot putt for birdie to win 1-up.
“It was a lot of fun,” Polland said. “I am happy with the way I played. The last game was great. Paul was playing well. The putt was worth it on the last hole because that was the club that was automatic and active this week. “
Poland led the way for the American team all week with an overall record of 5-0. “Being able to even play five games in one is fun, let alone win them all,” said Polland. “The experience of playing in the matches, the team format and everything that was great. This is a great event to play in.”
Mueller erased a 3-hole deficit against Toby Hunt with three straight birdies on holes 16-18 to split the match in half. Collet beat Daniel Brown 1-up and Marek won 2&1 over James Ruth for two more points for the US.
Great Britain and Ireland, led by team captain Tim Rouse, collected four points in Sunday’s final with Colm Moriarty’s 1-up win over Andy Svoboda, James Walker’s 1-up win over Jared Jones, Adam Keogh’s win 3&2 against Jeremy Wells and Gareth Davies’ 3&2 decision over Matt Cahill.
Sunday marked the conclusion of a memorable PGA Cup for the Americans, who led 7-1 and 12-4 after the first two days, respectively. Both Collet and Marek finished their PGA Cup debuts with unblemished 4-0 records.
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