THE Walker Cup was supposed to be the pinnacle of Scott Gregory’s amateur career before turning pro and he got to represent Great Britain & Ireland with two of his closest friends from his junior days with Hampshire Boys (writes Andrew Griffin).

But after watching the Americans write a script akin to Hollywood, with host club member Stewart Hagestad holing the winning putt for the United States in Sunday’s singles at Los Angeles Country Club, Gregory was left with the consolation of picking up two-and-a-half points out of the seven GB&I managed from 26 matches over the weekend.

Gregory gave a putting display that had legendary US commentator Julie Inkster purring with approval.

Things looked bleak in the final session, with the US needing just two-and-a-half points to regain the trophy, but Gregory refused to be beaten by Norman Xiong, even when he went dormie two thanks to a par four at the 495-yard 16th.

That set up Hagestad to beat Jack Singh-Brar on the 17th and claim the trophy after the 21-year-old lost the hole after hitting the sand with his wedge after a bungled bunker shot when one down.

Gregory, playing a hole behind, was in the zone and unaware of events unfolding ahead, and with the single-mindedness that had taken him from the Hampshire U12s all the way to his all-time high as World No 6 in the official amateur rankings, he curled home his 30-footer for a birdie three – letting out a gurgling yell – on the 17th to extend the match after Xiong missed from 18 feet.

Xiong left a 24-footer for bogey shy on the last, giving Gregory two putts from nine feet for an unlikely half.

Last year’s Amateur Champion closed out in style by making his par with another putt straight in the middle.

Gregory said: “I’m so competitive that even if the team lost, I would still want to try and do my best.”

He could take pride in his own performance, even if a record three members of the American team emerged with perfect records in all four matches for the first time.

Gregory was unbeaten on Sunday and lost one of his two singles.

In the Sunday foursomes, playing with Singh-Brar, he holed an outrageous bunker shot on the par-five 14th to go two up against NCAA college champion Braden Thornberry and US Amateur champion Doc Redman.

A bogey at the 16th for the English pair meant a nervy finish until Gregory’s approach set up a birdie putt for Singh-Brar on the last to win the match by two holes.

Twenty-four hours earlier, Singh-Brar and Gregory had played as well as anyone when beating big-hitting Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Champ.

Their 3&2 win meant the visitors emerged with a 2-2 scoreline from the opening skirmishes, which was about as good as GB&I could hope for after Alfie Plant and Harry Ellis had lost heavily, while Welsh pair David Boote and Jack Davidson had been trounced 5&4 in the bottom game.

Gregory was sent out last in Saturday’s singles and was two up after 10 against Maverick McNealy, but three bogeys and a double plus a great two from last year’s Mark McCormack Medal winner at the short 15th sealed a 3&1 win and gave the Americans a virtually unassailable six-point lead after the first day.

It was the heaviest defeat GB have experienced, with the 19-7 scoreline matching that of 1993 when the weather at Interlachen resulted in a change of format.

It was also the biggest winning margin since Justin Rose was on the losing side at Quaker Ridge in 1997. Rose was both the youngest player to appear in the competition, founded in 1922, and the first from mainland Hampshire to be selected in the biennial event.