Europe – USA 15-13

The silver hickory Grail trophy was again contested this year on the New, Old and Jubilee links of St Andrews 26-28 October and as always in a Ryder Cup format, this time the 12th Edition since its inauguration in 2000. I was fortunate to be one of the 19 hickory players on the European Team. Due to cancellations the US team only mustered 14 players, all well kent faces from previous Grails.

Day one foursome matches ended 3½ vs 3½. On the second day some excellent golf was played on the Old course with some sub-par fourball scores. Europe was the more successful of the two teams, winning 4½ vs 2½, taking the total score to 8 vs 6. Traditionally the third day is the day for the singles. For a moment the US team had closed the gap and was leading in the clubhouse 9-10. But Europe finished strongly to take 7 out of 14 singles match points. The final score was thereby 15-13. Consequently The Grail stays home, in Europe, for two more years. In 2023 it will be contested again in Belvedere, Lake Michigan. As always, The Grail was an event with good cameraderie across the teams, good banter and much fun.

For more details, match results etc, see www.thehickorygrail.com.