Welcome back to Keeping Score, our Friday column that highlights the personalities, teams and games that sports fans are talking about — by the numbers.
3
How many points Great Britain & Ireland trailed the US on the final of last weekend’s Walker Cup before making a historic comeback to win
Ian Poulter knows how to pull off dramatic comebacks in team golf. He helped spark Team Europe’s rally at the “Miracle at Medinah” at the 2012 Ryder Cup, and his son Luke continued the family tradition at the Walker Cup last weekend.
The biennial exhibition between the best amateur men in Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) and the US has been played since 1922, but the event has never had a finish like this one, with GB&I making a Sunday charge in singles to overcome a 9½-6½ deficit and win 13½-12½.
The Ryder Cup hasn’t seen many comebacks like this, either. In the history of the Ryder Cup, only two teams have come back from a bigger deficit than the 2026 Walker Cup GB&I team. The Americans came back from four points down in Sunday singles to win the 1999 Ryder Cup at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass., and the Europeans came back from the same 10-6 score to win the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago.
However, the GB&I team’s win was equally impressive. With just 10 players, not 12 as in the Ryder Cup, GB&I needed to win 7 out of 10 possible points (70%) on Sunday. In the “Miracle at Medinah” victory, the Europeans needed to win 8½ out of 12 points (roughly 71%).
Luke Poulter beat American Ethan Fang 3 & 1 on Sunday to grab one of those points, and his father Ian led the “Olé, Olé, Olé” chants during the post-match celebration at a local pub Sunday night and then picked up the tab.
Paul McGinley, captain of the European 2014 Ryder Cup team, found the spirit of the Walker Cup refreshing.
“The Walker Cup has potential to be a brilliant addition to the ‘premier’ golfing calendar.” McGinley wrote on X. “Crowds on fairways, stories of emerging stars & the lack of commercialism just a few things to be leaned into & not away from.”
The courses are usually pretty special, too. I remember watching a young Rickie Fowler at the Walker Cup at Merion in 2009. More recent Walker Cups have been held at Cypress Point, Seminole and the Old Course at St. Andrews, and tickets for last weekend’s event were just $50 with kids getting in free. See you at Bandon Dunes in 2028.
54
Years since a Black American man reached the US Open final
Arthur Ashe was the last to do so, in 1972. The streak will end tonight as Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe will become the first two Black American men to meet in a Grand Slam semifinal in the Open era. On Sunday, one of them will have a chance to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam tournament since Andy Roddick in 2003.
$225,000
Average amount that a college football starting kicker in a Power Four conference will earn this season
