PGA Cup: U.S. Extends Lead to 12-4 Over Great Britain & Ireland

Keep the foot on the gas. That was the mindset of the United States Team on Saturday at the 31st PGA Cup.

The Americans were determined to follow an impressive first-day performance with more of the same on day two. And they did, earning a gritty 2-2-0 split in Morning Four-Ball before winning three of the four Afternoon Foursomes matches at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon.

Heading into Sunday singles, the U.S. Team owns a strong 12.0 - 4.0 lead over Great Britain & Ireland and needs 1.5 points to capture its third consecutive Llandudno International Trophy.

Ben Polland (Jackson Hole, Wyo.) and Brad Marek (Berekeley, Calif.) led the charge as both won their two second-day matches. With two additional wins on Saturday, Polland improved to 4-0-0 in the 2024 PGA Cup. Tyler Collet (Vero Beach, Fla.) and Jared Jones (Houston, Texas) are now 3-0-0 together after their Foursomes victory.

“The guys had such a great attitude and were all ready to go,” said U.S. Captain and PGA of America Honorary President Jim Richerson. “I’ve got to give all the credit to the team. They make it really tough on me on who to pick in pairings because they’ve all played phenomenal.”

Jesse Mueller (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Marek collected the U.S. Team’s first point on Saturday, a 3&2 win over GB & I’s Daniel Brown and James Ruth. Entering the back nine with a 2-up lead, Marek eagled the par-5 10th after hitting his 3-wood to five inches. Mueller added a birdie on the par-4 11th, stretching their advantage to four. Ruth birdied the par-4 15th, but a clutch par from Mueller at the par-3 16th closed out the match for the home team.

The morning Four-Ball match of Polland and Andy Svoboda (Oak Brook, Ill.) versus GB & I’s Toby Hunt and Colm Moriarty went down to the wire on 18.

Polland birdied the par-5 2nd for his first of three birdies on the front nine. After making the turn with the match all square, Svoboda birdied the par-5 10th to go 1-up. GB & I countered with back-to-back birdies on holes 12-13 to reclaim the lead. Another clutch birdie from Svoboda at the par-4 14th brought the match back to even.

After both sides birdied the par-5 17th, the match moved to the par-4 18th hole all square. Svoboda drilled a 5-foot putt for birdie to clinch the hole and a 1-up win.

“It was a really good match, a lot of birdies,” said Svoboda. “Ben played great, made a lot of birdies on the front. That was a great birdie there for me on 18 to win the match.”

Great Britain & Ireland picked up two points in the morning. Craig Lee and Paul McKechnie defeated John Somers (Trinity, Fla.) and Matt Cahill (West Palm Beach, Fla.) 2&1. James Walker and Adam Keogh registered a 5&3 win over Michael Block (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Jeremy Wells (Estero, Fla.).

After sweeping the afternoon Foursomes on Friday, the U.S. Team delivered an almost equally dominant performance on day two.

The dynamic duo of Jones and Collet struck first, beating GB & I’s Gareth Davies and Matt Cort 4&2. The American pair led 5-up through 12 holes before Davies and Cort claimed holes 13-14. Collet and Jones sealed the victory with a three on the par-3 16th.

“When you have a partner like Jared, it’s pretty simple,” said Collet. “He hits it so straight and we have so much confidence in each other. We’ve been a great team the last two days.”

Polland and Block caught fire on the back nine in their Foursomes match against McKechnie and Lee. The Americans claimed holes 14-15 to go 3-up. Polland then drained a 13-foot putt for birdie at the par-3 16th to clinch the 4-up win.

“Ben is just so solid,” said Richerson. “He is such a great player and so steady. In every match you put him out, you know someone is going to have to play phenomenal to beat him.”

Marek teamed with Jeremy Wells (Estero, Fla.) in the U.S. Team’s third Foursomes win of the afternoon. Marek and Wells defeated Adam Keogh and James Walker 3&1 in a tightly-contested match that produced 10 birdies and an eagle.

“Jeremy and I had a really good game plan,” said Marek. “Jeremy took the odd holes and was pounding it off the tee. I was pretty dialed in with wedges and was able to give him a lot of looks and his putter got hot.”

GB & I notched its lone afternoon point when Moriarty and Hunt defeated Somers and Cahill 1-up.

Despite owning an imposing lead heading into Sunday singles, the U.S. Team knows the job’s not done.

“They all know golf and anything can happen,” said Richerson. “We have not won the Cup yet. That’s still our goal. These guys are very focused and we’re going to make sure we do all we can and we’re ready to go tomorrow.”

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