2009 Walker Cup: Review
AFTER three successive contests in which the two teams were separated by a single point, the 42nd Walker Cup match at Merion this month reverted to more familiar type.
The final winning margin of seven points was, in the cold light of day, a fair reflection of the Americans' superiority over a fine September weekend in Pennsylvania.
It raised the USA's overall record to 34 wins and a tie and brought back some painful memories of an era we all hoped and thought had passed.
At Royal County Down in 2007, GB&I had lost only one of the four series - albeit by a whitewash in the Sunday foursomes.
Here the away side lost ground in every session and so fell progressively further behind as the weekend progressed.
If one single thing could sum up what became an uphill task from an early stage it was in the final-day singles.
Needing the fastest of starts to have any chance of collecting a highly unlikely 8 1/2 points out of the remaining 10 available to reclaim the cup, the opening hole was lost in six of the first seven matches with a half in the other.
Automatically on the defensive, this made the scoreboard awash with red before those in the bottom matches had so much as arrived on the 1st tee.
The frustrating thing was that all seven of these singles games could ultimately have been won by GB&I.
It was a similar story throughout.
GB&I were not outclassed - but they did spend spend almost the entire weekend fighting fires rather than dictating terms.
Rickie Fowler, playing in his second Walker Cup, was the outstanding player on show and never looked liked claiming anything less than four points out of four.
Previously, doubts have been expressed about GB&I's strength in depth; here the bald facts were that the best Americans had the edge on their counterparts in the opposition.
As ever in team competition, the effects of momentum and a fast start simply cannot be underestimated.
As ever with the USA, once their noses are in front they are notoriously hard to catch.
To their great credit, the likes of Wallace Booth and Gavin Dear, two thirds of Scotland's reigning Eisenhower Trophy championship-winning side form last year, refused to be bowed and were always worthy opponents.
Sam Hutsby lost twice on the opening day but balanced the books with two points on Sunday.
While Stiggy Hodgson was the player to emerge with most credit from an opening day that saw him involved in the only two matches GB&I won.
Two points behind from the opening foursomes, the Berkshire teenager was the sole non-American to win his Saturday singles.
Even though there were four halves, it still meant a final-day lead of four points for the USA.
In what was probably the knockout blow, Dear and Matt Haines won the first three holes of the top match the next morning yet had shaken hands, defeated, before reaching the 17th.
For the second day running, the foursomes finished 3-1.
It meant that, over his two matches in charge, Buddy Marucci, the American captain, has presided over a 12-4 aggregate supremacy in the foursomes. And this in a format the Americans are supposed to struggle with.
Briefly, it seemed a sporting miracle might be possible on Sunday afternoon and at one stage only Luke Goddard's match looked unwinnable as Dear finally took his revenge on Brian Harman in the top match.
The next six matches were all tight but, in a microcosm of the weekend as whole, GB&I could take only 2 1/2 points out of them.
And so the likeable Colin Dalgleish, the GB&I captain, will walk away with two losses from his time in charge. Popular among the players, he has reflected nothing but credit on British and Irish amateur golf over the last few years.
Nevertheless, for those watching from home and listening to the wisdom of Sky's studio guest Peter McEvoy, twice successful captain and twice chairman of selectors, it was hard not to wish that a change of protocol had allowed him to be at Merion supporting Dalgleish and his team in some form.
This was a young (as is now the way in the Walker Cup) and capable GB&I team, albeit not one packed with the obvious star names of recent instalments. It will be fascinating to watch their progress as professionals (almost certainly in every case) over the coming years.
As for the next chapter of the Walker Cup, that comes in two years' time at Royal Aberdeen, a worthy successor to Merion.
By then we can expect 10 new faces to emerge to represent GB&I, as well as a new captain.
But if it comes as any consolation, they will not have to cope with either the inspirational captaincy of Buddy Marucci or the formidable talents of Rickie Fowler, who departs the amateur game with a Walker Cup record of P8 W7 H0 L1.
It is now time for him to pick on the professionals.