The United States won the PGA Cup for the third consecutive time after beating GB&I 17.5-8.5 at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon.
After a tough first day for Team Great Britain and Ireland, where they scored only one of the eight available points, it was an uphill battle from then on.
Craig Lee & Paul McKechnie scored a point on both the first and second days, and were joined by Toby Hunt & Colm Moriarty and Adam Keogh & James Walker on day two, each pair scoring an additional point.
Going into the final day, Team Great Britain and Ireland trailed Team USA 4-12, and with 13 points being enough for Team USA to retain the Llandudno Trophy, Team Great Britain and Ireland needed to claim all of the Sunday singles matches to win.
A strong start on Sunday meant a number of matches turned ‘blue’, but Team USA fought back and with only one point required to retain the trophy, soon secured the win.
Team Great Britain & Ireland PGA Cup Captain, Tim Rouse, said: “My boys have played their hearts out, I couldn’t ask for anything more. The Americans have outplayed us on the greens, but my boys have played fantastic. We’ve had no weak link in the team at all – they’ve all played their best, they’ve given it 100% and it’s been an amazing experience.”
Gareth Davies was one of the players who scored a point for Team Great Britain and Ireland in the Sunday singles matches, alongside Adam Keogh, James Walker and Colm Moriarty, plus Toby Hunt who scored a half. Davies said: “You want to come and contribute and the whole team wanted to show a bit of pride today and we’ve done that.
“It’s been an amazing week – I’ve solidified friendships I already had, made some new ones, it’s been great for the family to be here – it’s been really nice, we’ll treasure it for the rest of our lives.
“It’s sport – somebody has to win, somebody has to lose – you can always look back and say ‘we could have done this different’, but the Americans played great, especially the first day, they were unbelievable, so it’s just really nice that we’ve shown that we can play and compete today.”
