Britain and Ireland regained the Walker Cup in comprehensive fashion at Royal Lytham on Sunday, securing the points required against the United States with six matches still to finish.
Leading 10-6 after the morning foursomes, the home side needed just three and a half points from the 10 singles to secure a fifth win from the last six contests on home soil.
And they did so at the earliest possible opportunity thanks to victories for Ashley Chesters, Cormac Sharvin and Jimmy Mullen and a half from Paul Dunne in the top four matches.
Chesters was sent out first once more and made it three and a half points from four by beating Jordan Niebrugge, who lost all three of his matches just two months after finishing sixth in the Open at St Andrews.
Sharvin then saw off 52-year-old Mike McCoy 4&3 before Mullen, who had partnered Chesters to two foursomes wins, beat Denny McCarthy to become the first GB&I player to have a perfect 4-0 record since Paul Casey and Luke Donald at Nairn in 1999.
That left Dunne to secure a half against world number two Maverick McNealy, who missed from five feet for birdie on the 18th to keep the biennial contest between the best amateurs from both sides of the Atlantic alive.
Captain Nigel Edwards struggled to put into words what it meant to lead his side to victory for the second time in three attempts.
“Gosh. It’s great,” the 47-year-old Welshman said. “At Royal Aberdeen (in 2011) we were up against it until the death but the boys at the top of the order went out fast as we needed them to do.”
Asked about his perfect record, the 21-year-old Mullen said: “It did not matter as long as the team won, but to win all my matches is the icing on the cake.”
Dunne, who led the Open after 54 holes before fading on the final day, added: “I will take winning over 30th place every day. It’s so much better to do it as a team. Nigel has been a fantastic captain and inspired us from start to finish.”
