Weir plaudits for PGA Cup heroes

Great Britain & Ireland captain Russell Weir hailed his ‘phenomenal’ PGA Cup team after they came close to staging one of the greatest comebacks ever seen in team golf at De Vere Slaley Hall.

The Scot, who spent Saturday afternoon in Hexham hospital after feeling unwell, masterminded a stunning 7.5-2.5 singles victory in the Sunday finale to tie the match 13-13 overall with the United States.

It was sufficient for Allen Wronowski’s US team to retain the Llandudno Trophy - as cup holders, but it was Weir’s GB&I players who carried the broader smiles at the climax of a riveting afternoon session of match play golf over the Hunting Course, which saw them end a run of three defeats in the biennial contest.

Benn Barham and Richard Wallis laid down a marker with the first two points with further momentum coming from the Scottish pair of Gareth Wright and Graham Fox. Dan Greenwood held his nerve to drain a five footer on the last for another win with Nick Brennan and Jon Barnes bringing up the rear and Scott Henderson bagged a half in a titanic tussle with JC Anderson.

“That was phenomenal – the best I’ve seen,” said Weir.

“That was exceptional golf by the boys.  I was feeling under the weather yesterday – I found out I had an allergy to red numbers. Seeing all that blue on the board made me feel an awful lot better. The boys were really up for it today. They were just outstanding there are no other words to describe it.

“I tried to be all over the place but you can’t be everywhere at one time but my heart was there. It’s difficult to describe how I feel and how much pride I feel in those boys. I’ve been hugging all of them today and I’ll continue to hug them tonight.

“At one stage here was no red on the board at all and it looked as if the miracle could happen. Someone showed me a Medinah sweater this morning and we almost had that.”

It was the fourth draw in the 40-year history of the PGA Cup and tees up the encounter for two years time when it returns to CordeValle in northern California.

US captain Wronowski paid tribute to the passion of both teams, declaring golf the winner.

“The GB&I players played with so much heart and so much passion. There was some discussion about one for Russell and the things they were doing were just phenomenal,” he said.

“My players are saying I shot three-under but I lost 3&2. It was just great golf.

“Ultimately it’s about friendships, relationships and the goal was to take the cup back home and players managed to do that.

“But there’s so many wonderful stories about the game of golf, the great play, the sportsmanship of both teams. The matches could not have been better played.”