Obviously a British response to the weekend's events is going to be a bit different! Good to see so many friends at Lytham, which I think turned out to be a much better and more atmospheric Walker Cup venue than some had feared: it was an unusual, slightly political and eyebrow-raising choice when announced (and don't forget that the WC is going back to the North-West in 2019 for the 150th anniversary of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club), but Saturday afternoon's excitement and Sunday's weather both contributed to a cracking weekend overall. Personally, I emerged with a much, much stronger sense of the excellence of Lytham as a test than at (say) the 2012 Open: it's striking how much of a course's challenge gets effectively hidden by the spectator facilities of a major championship.
As for the British team, Captain Edwards played another blinder: he has now been on two winning Walker Cup teams as a player, and two as a captain. Annual experience of the Lytham Trophy (one of our two or three premier 72 hole strokeplay events, along with the Brabazon and the Links Trophy) surely helped our side, and it can't be coincidental that the one player on either side side with a 4 from 4 record, Jimmy Mullen, has the great good fortune to play his regular golf at RND Westward Ho! Whilst I take Ward's point about the softening rain, this didn't make course management choices any easier, and on the whole the Brits did this (much) better. For once (and in stark contrast to Walker Cups of the past) the Brits also putted better throughout. Incidentally, GCAers with an interest in the history of the game might like to check out the Pathe News website, where there is a good deal of newsreel footage of pre-war matches, showing (inter alia) some proper stymies!
Anyway, the weekend left me looking forward to the LA Country Club, Hoylake, and Seminole as a truly enticing trio of upcoming venues, in keeping with an event which is for me the most enjoyable fixture in all elite golf, and (by a mile) the best spectator proposition.