US team in ‘great position’, warn duo

• DeChambeau and McCarthy unfazed by two-point deficit
• GB&I lead USA 7-5 after opening day of Walker Cup action
• “It’s far from over,” warns GB&I captain Nigel Edwards

American duo Bryson DeChambeau and Denny McCarthy believe the US team are in a great position heading into tomorrow’s matches – despite trailing GB&I 7-5.

DeChambeau, the US Amateur champion, and McCarthy both failed to win their afternoon singles matches – the former sinking a clutch putt to halve with Ashley Chesters while the latter lost on the 18th to Jimmy Mullen – and although the US team were unable to reduce the two-point deficit from the morning foursomes, the pair think they’re in good shape going into tomorrow.

“It was a gutsy effort from us in the afternoon to keep it alive” – Bryson DeChambeau

“We’re in a great position,” DeChambeau told bunkered.co.uk. “We’re still getting used to the golf course. I think after today in competition and seeing how we played and performed, it was a gutsy effort from us in the afternoon to keep it alive.

“Personally, I’m happy with how I played given that my neck was hurting all day. It was a tough thing to deal with and I was happy to be able to fight back for the half.

McCarthy, who finished T42 in this year’s US Open, echoed the thoughts of team-mate DeChambeau and although he lost his singles match to Jimmy Mullen, was happy with how he played.

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“I played great golf so I can’t be disappointed,” McCarthy told bunkered.co.uk. “I shot two-under-par through 18 holes, which would’ve been good enough to win any other match this afternoon. So credit to Jimmy, he played brilliantly and on the back nine, I think he hit three or four shots inside three or four feet for birdie, so it was tough to match.

“We’ve played 12 out of 26 points so there’s a lot of golf still to be played. I like where we’re at and we’ll go out tomorrow and hopefully play some more good golf.”

Meanwhile, GB&I captain Nigel Edwards was pleased with his side’s efforts on Saturday but warned that there’s still a long way to go.

“I’d have taken a 7-5 lead at the start of the day” – Nigel Edwards

“I’m very pleased,” said the Welshman. “I’d have taken a 7-5 lead at the start of the day, but I’d also have taken 12-0! Any lead is a good lead but it’s far from over and on the last four holes, we’ve already seen today that anything can happen.”

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