Former LCA star Hunter Stewart leads Americans to Palmer Cup victory
Former Lexington Christian star Hunter Stewart won all four of his matches to lead the United States to an 18-12 victory against Europe in the Palmer Cup at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., on Sunday.
The Americans lead the all-time series 10-8-1.
Team USA only needed two points Sunday to clinch the victory and Stewart, who just finished up his collegiate career at Vanderbilt with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships, defeated Thomas Detry 4 and 3 for the first one.
Stewart won the first hole of his match with a birdie, but Detry claimed the next hole and then took the lead at No. 4. Stewart squared it back up with a birdie on the sixth and took the lead for good with another birdie at No. 8.
"I knew I was going to need my best against Detry, a great player who was hot all week," Stewart said in a report on Golfweek.com. "And I hit it close all day."
Clement Sordet kept Europe's hopes alive briefly after defeating Anders Albertson 2 and 1. Sordet won the first hole and led throughout.
The U.S. finished it off, though, with nearly simultaneous victories by Beau Hossler and Ollie Schniederjans. Hossler defeated Pep Angles, 2 and 1, while Schniederjans beat Max Rottluff, 5 and 3.
Stewart and American teammate Robby Shelton became the 15th and 16th players to post a 4-0 record at a Palmer Cup. It was the first time that multiple players went undefeated and untied in one since 2006.
"I was able to keep momentum all week," Stewart told Golfweek. "When I did give a hole away, I knew having the ball in the fairway on the next hole was imperative, and that kept the pressure on."
Stewart and Matthias Schwab of Austria — teammates at Vanderbilt — were named the recipients of the Michael Carter Award, which is presented to the Palmer Cup participants that best represent the qualities and ideals sportsmanship, integrity and upholding of the game.
This story was originally published June 14, 2015 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Former LCA star Hunter Stewart leads Americans to Palmer Cup victory."