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Walker Cup Match 5Great Britain and Ireland Wins the 2011 MatchGreat Britain and Ireland, bolstered by the undefeated recordsof Paul Cutler and Rhys Pugh, won the Walker Cup Matchfor the first time since 2003 at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club inScotland with a 14-12 victory over the USA.Cutler, 22, of Northern Ireland, and the winner of the 2011Irish Amateur, compiled a 3-0-1 mark. Welshman Pugh, theyoungest competitor on either side at 17, was a perfect 3-0.He won the 2011 Irish Amateur Open and will attend EastTennessee State University in the USA.GB&I has now claimed four of the last five Walker CupMatches played on home soil, dating to 1995 at RoyalPorthcawl in Wales.“I said to the boys at lunchtime that we haven’t done it yet,”said GB&I Captain Nigel Edwards. “We had to get on with itbecause the Americans are great players. I had a lot of faith inthese boys as I’ve said all week. They are a great bunch. Theywant to win. They have a lot of passion and desire.”In the windiest conditions of the two-day biennial competitionin Sunday morning’s foursomes (alternate-shot), GB&I wonthree matches and tied a fourth to increase its lead to 10½-5½. With winds gusting to 30-35 mph and the outward nineplaying downwind, GB&I jumped out to substantial leads inthree matches and gained three points to just a half point forthe USA, thanks to the victories of the tandems of Jack Seniorand Andy Sullivan; Cutler and Alan Dunbar; and James Byrneand Pugh.The lone USA half-point came from Jordan Spieth and PatrickRodgers. Spieth holed an 18-foot par putt at the 18th hole tohalve the match against Tom Lewis and Michael Stewart.The USA won the first two matches of the afternoon singlessessions to cut into the GB&I lead, but Steven Brown’s halvewith the USA’s Blayne Barber in the sixth match earned thenecessary 13½ points to win the Match for the first time sinceGB&I prevailed at Ganton Golf Club in England in 2003.The USA’s 6½-3½ margin in singles was its only session victoryamong the four played. The teams split eight singles matcheson Saturday.“Our preparation and the desire to be successful,” saidEdwards of the keys to victory. “I told them they were veryspecial people and they deserve to be here. And all they haveto do is go out and perform and look after their ball becauseit’s not played on paper.The GB&I victory breaks a string of three consecutive wins bythe USA in the Match.“Oh, gosh, these guys, they played so hard, and with so muchheart,” said USA Captain Jim Holtgrieve said, himself a threetimeWalker Cup participant. “They went out and did exactlywhy they got on this team; because they know exactly howto play in competition and that’s what they showed this afternoon.”Peter Uihlein, the 2010 U.S. Amateur champion, improvedto 4-0 in singles matches with his 2-and-1 win over StiggyHodgson, leaving the Oklahoma State All-American just onewin behind Bob Jones, who was 5-0-0. Spieth, a two-timeU.S. Junior Amateur champion and the youngest member ofthe USA Team, was the top point-getter for the USA with a2-0-1 mark.To commemorate 10 years since the tragic events of Sept. 11,2001, the USA wore commemorative hats with the words“Never Forget” inscribed on the side along with the years2001 and 2011. Holtgrieve also read a letter prior to play fromformer President George W. Bush and a brief moment ofsilence was held at the closing ceremony.The USA now holds a 9-4 lead in Walker Cup matches playedin Scotland. The USA still leads the overall series, 34-8-1.Walker Cup