Team USA held their nerve on an intense day of fourball matches at The Creek on Tuesday, securing a crucial 5-1 lead ahead of tomorrow's singles matches.

As for Team GB, they fought hard, and at one stage looked set to end up in the lead themselves. As if to illustrate the wafer-thin difference between the two teams, only two out of the six matches saw either side take more than a two-hole lead at any point.

Those particular showdowns saw Marty Caraway and Shauna Snyder prevail in the third game 4&3 for Team USA over the British pairing of Ian Bishop and Dave Ward. Meanwhile, in the fifth group, former US captains Steve Ogletree (2016) and Mike Stafford (2019) stormed to a resounding 6&5 victory over Tony Lownds and Alex Hiles.

But those were very much the outliers on an otherwise-tense day, where the projected score seldom deviated from 3-3. First out of the blocks for GB was the pairing of tour pro (and through-knee amputee) Mike Browne and rookie Mark Thompson, who found themselves 2 down with four holes to play, before winning the next three to make it dormy heading down 18. However, American Billy Paul made a fine par at the last to grab a crucial half point for himself and partner Shawn Whitmore.



More box office in the group behind them, which featured both captains (Greig Phillips for Team GB and Todd Tongue for Team USA), along with Chad Pfeifer, who is the first amputee to have ever competed on the Korn Ferry Tour. The game remained deadlocked from holes 11 through 17, with neither side giving an inch. But, when it mattered most, Pfeifer held his nerve to par the difficult 18th and secure a narrow 1 up victory.

For the many spectators at The Creek, there was still more drama to come. The fourth match saw GB's John Devlin and Chris Paterson trade Ws on the back nine with their US counterparts Russ Normandin and John Goudie, eventually reaching the 18th hole all square. Remarkably, both Devlin and Normandin then holed out for birdie as another breathless encounter finished all square.

The anchor match, however, may well prove to be the one that swings the Simpson Cup the way of the USA. It had been looking good for the visitors, as Dave Onions and Neil Flynn reached the 16th hole 2 up. But an inspired Jesse Williamson - a double amputee - then made an unlikely up and down from the bunker, before his partner Jake Nelson holed a 15-foot putt for birdie on 17. Their par on the final hole was then good enough, and it completed a remarkable comeback 1 up victory.

So, 5-1 reads the scoreline, and heartbreak for the Brits who undoubtedly deserved more from their day's work - especially having taken four matches down the 18th hole. But they'll at least be able to call on an excellent singles record when they arrive at the course tomorrow, having historically accumulated 54.5 points in the format (out of a possible 98).

Captain Tongue will also know that their four point lead isn't an unassailable one. But, having witnessed the determination his charges showed in the fourball matches today, he'll have every confidence that they can get the job done tomorrow, and regain the Simpson Cup on home soil.

You can view tomorrow's matches, and keep track of the live scoring, by clicking here. Additionally, the Team GB and Team USA twitter accounts, along with our Instagram account, will bring it all to your screen, as it happens. If today is anything to go by, tomorrow promises to be one for the ages!