The Walker Cup got underway on Saturday at Lahinch in Ireland.
Great Britain & Ireland led 2.5-1.5 after the Saturday morning foursomes, before the afternoon singles got underway.
There was some incredible golf on display on day one at Lahinch.
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However, the first session of the Walker Cup was marred by controversy.
Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
The GB&I team of Niall Sheils Donegan and Josh Hill were 4 up after eight holes of their match against Josiah Gilbert and Ryder Cowan.
On the ninth hole, Sheils Donegan faced an eight-foot putt for birdie to extend his team’s lead to 5 up.
However, he missed the putt and then picked up his ball which finished around 12-18 inches from the hole.
Walker Cup sparks into life after controversial foursomes incident
Cowan called in an official and told him he and his teammate were claiming the ball as they had not given Sheils Donegan his putt.
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As there was no verbal communication between the players, the Americans were handed the hole.
It mattered little in the end as the GB&I team of Sheils Donegan and Hill went on to win 4&3.
However, it was certainly an unsavory incident, and golf fans took to social media to vent their dismay at what happened at Lahinch.
Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images
One fan tweeted sarcastically, “American unsporting behaviour, knock me down with a feather.“
The comments kept coming, with fans stating, “Oh man. Why didn’t he give it to him?“, and “Cowan and partner were down 4 and got destroyed 4 and 3. I am sure Donegan would love to play Cowan in singles.“
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“Pathetic from the Americans,“ one fan exclaimed, while another said, “You would expect anything else from an American would you? Classless till the end.“
One fan urged the GB&I team to play the Americans at their own game, stating: “That’s fine. Just don’t give any players a putt. Make them all putt out. Job done.“
Meanwhile, another golf fan accused Cowan of being classless, “Classless. Cowan should hang his head in shame.“
The main thing to note here is that Niall Sheils Donegan should never have assumed that his putt was given.
It was a really poor mistake from him and one that he will undoubtedly learn from.
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Niall Sheils Donegan comments on Walker Cup incident
In fairness to the 21-year-old Scot, he fully owned his mistake.
“It was completely on me,“ he admitted.
“I hit the 6-footer and missed it like an idiot. I had a foot back, and I just dragged it away like I’m in a Sunday bounce game, but those aren’t the rules of golf.
“You screw up, but it’s not about how you screw up, it’s about how you bounce back and we bounced back amazingly.”
Sheils Donegan showed his class with those comments after the controversial incident on day one of the Walker Cup.
And he almost certainly will never make the same error again.
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