Britain & Ireland took an early 3-1 lead against the United States as the 43rd Walker Cup got under way with the foursomes at Royal Aberdeen on Saturday.
Patrick Cantlay and Chris Williams prevented a whitewash for the U.S. with a 5&3 victory in the fourth match against Steve Brown and Stiggy Hodgson.
Tom Lewis and Michael Stewart defeated Peter Uihlein and Harris English 2&1 in the opening contest before Jack Senior and Andy Sullivan beat Russell Henley and Kelly Kraft by same scoreline.
Irish pair Paul Cutler and Alan Dunbar then claimed the biggest victory of the morning session, 5&4 over Nathan Smith and Blayne Barber, before the Americans rallied in the final foursome.
Despite the gray, damp conditions, large crowds surrounded the first tee when Peter hit a safe iron off the tee to a perfect position on the fairway, while Lewis sent his drive soaring into the gorse down the left into what proved to be an unplayable lie. Result, Uihlein and English one up against Lewis and Stewart.
First blood to the United States.
The next two holes were halved before Britain & Ireland got back to level with a birdie at the fourth, but it needed birdies at 10 and 11 to put them ahead for the first time.
For Cutler and Dunbar, it was a roller-coaster ride. They were 2 up after three holes, but then lost 4, 5 and 6 to pars to go one down, only to birdie 7 and 8 to get back in front. They then won four holes in a row from the turn, and a half at the 14th was enough to win the match.
Senior and Sullivan were never behind against Russell Henley and Kelly Kraft. Three up after five with winning birdies at 4 and 5, they lost the 6th to a birdie, won the 8th with a par but then lost the 9th to a par to turn two up.
They lost the tenth 10th when Senior drove out of bounds, but he immediately made amends by holing a 30-footer for a winning birdie on the short 11th and Sullivan slotted home from 15 feet for a winning birdie at the next to restore their three-hole lead on the way to a comfortable win.
Cantlay and Williams were always in front against Brown and Hodgson, taking the lead with a winning par at the short third, then birdying four more to be five up at the turn.
The next four holes were halved, Britain & Ireland got one back with a winning par at the 14th but then a par at the next was enough to give the United States a welcome point.
