USA Retains Quaich in Heroic Battle; Scots Left Heartbroken

The USA won the Quaich for the fourth straight time on Sunday in Nairn, Scotland.  In the face of a spirited onslaught from Team Scotland, the scrappy Americans had to dig deep in order to retain the coveted trophy.

"I am really proud of my team," said U.S. Captain Eric "Swayze" Silagy.  "I know I was hard on them at times, especially after our dismal greensomes performance on Saturday at Lossiemouth.  But the team rallied today and showed me what they are made of."

Both teams on the 1st tee at Nairn Dunbar prior to the final singles matches

All seemed to be going according to plan for Team Scotland.  On the strength of a strong performance on Saturday afternoon in the greensomes format at the Moray Golf Club in Lossiemouth, Team Scotland held a one point advantage heading into the final day of competition and had its best opportunity in years to win The Quaich.  

Needing to win only 3.5 of 8 total points available on Sunday, the Scots had several opportunities to secure victory but ultimately fell just short.  “I am gutted,” said a tearful Scottish Captain Ross “Rosco” MacCallum. “The margin between the two teams was so close, I feel it came down to 5 or 6 shots that, had they gone our way, would have been the difference between winning and losing.”

Swayze and Chris “Guvna” Hughes each secured early points for the US.  Scotland’s Ronald “Wee Ronnie” Denholm and Tony “Hef” Denson countered with run-away victories of their own.  With Americans Ray “Mundo” Bonilla and Brian “Stealth” Farley each holding off their opponents, the Quaich hinged on the outcome of the two remaining singles matches on the course ---- Stephen “Web” Webster vs. Ian “Big Man” MacCallum and Chris “Cudman” Van Horne vs. Ross “Rosco” MacCallum.  Both matches came to the 18^th tee All Square, with the MacCallum brothers both needing to win their matches outright to secure a team win for Scotland.   Web, who found the left rough with his tee shot and wedged back into the fairway, struck a majestic “go-for-broke” third shot from 247 yards to within 3 feet of the hole on the par-5 18^th hole to secure a point.  When Cudman and Rosco subsequently exchanged bogeys for a halve, th

e USA could begin celebrating a hard-fought come-from-behind victory.

Victorious US team at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club