Poulter follows in father's footsteps with 'Legend of Lahinch' display

The BB&! pulled off a famous Walker Cup win at the Clare venue.

Luke Poulter of Great Britain and Ireland celebrates winning The Walker Cup. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Mon, 07 Sep, 2026 - 07:14

Simon Lewis

From the Miracle of Medinah to the Legend of Lahinch, the Poulter family’s golfing legacy now runs through two great matchplay victories.

Ian Poulter earned his nickname “The Postman” for always delivering for Europe at the Ryder Cup, the victory over the United States at Medinah the crowning moment as captain Jose Maria Olazabal’s team staged a last-day comeback from 10-6 down to win 14.5 to 13.5.

There were similar heroics at Lahinch on Sunday as Luke Poulter, with father Ian looking on, played his part in Great Britain & Ireland’s come-from-behind 13.5 to 12.5 victory over the USA, the men’s amateur world number eight adding to his Saturday singles win over No.4 Miles Russell with a 3&1 victory over No.9 Ethan Fang.

Was Medinah mentioned, the 22-year-old was asked when dad’s exploits were introduced.

“Medinah is his little thing but this is my team,” Luke Poulter replied. “The boys made this one up but the Legend of Lahinch!” Ireland’s sole representative Stuart Grehan and winning putt deliverer Josh Hill both credited their team-mates with helping to lift morale in the GB&I team room following the 4-0 Sunday morning foursomes whitewash which gave USA a three-point lead ahead of the singles.

“I was nearly asleep after that I was so deflated,” Grehan said, “but I have to say, the lads came in and in fairness, I think Tyler (Weaver) might have said to us ‘we're still in this’ and then once the tunes got going I was like, ‘fuck it, that's it’.

Hill added: “Luke jumped on the (music controls) and that was it. We were like, ‘we're beating these American boys, we're beating them’.

Wild celebrations in the GB&I team room could be heard during Team USA’s press conference with veteran team member Stewart Hagestad overcome his disappointment – “this sucks” – to praise the sell-out crowds at Lahinch.

“I think there's been other events where the crowds have maybe gone a little bit too far, and maybe the pendulum went a little bit too far in one direction,” Hagestad said.

“But to everyone's credit here, I spoke to someone this morning that drove in from two and a half hours away. I was blown away at how courteous and how lovely and supportive and, like, genuinely excited to be here and excited to watch great golf.

“There's a lot of just moments with parents and their kids, and that's what the event's all about. That's the definition of growing the game, and I have my own thoughts on that expression as a whole but, it was really, really great to see just the sincere appreciation for the sport, for the event. Everyone was wonderful, so credit to them.”