Kent’s Benn Barham led the comeback as GB & Ireland almost pulled off the most amazing shock against the USA in the PGA Cup.

The 37 year old Tenterden golfer was the first of the Great Britain & Ireland’s club professionals to go out and came back with a 4&3 victory over American Mike Small.

However, GB & Ireland weren’t able to conjure up an astonishing comeback at Slaley Hall as the USA retained the PGA Cup with a 13-13 draw.

The visitors, as holders of the Llandudno Trophy, may have retained the prize but it was the hosts who earned all the plaudits.

And rightly so. The US had led 10½ – 5½ going into the final day singles and required just 2½ points from the 10 matches to hold on to the trophy.

They did reach that tally eventually but GB&I were rampant and blitzed the session 7½ – 2½ to come within a whisker of earning a remarkable victory.

It had been a rollercoaster weekend in Northumberland and GB&I made sure it ended on a high as they halted a run of four successive defeats in the biennial battle and breathed new life into the transatlantic tussle.

A 4-0 drubbing in Friday’s fourballs was a real confidence crusher and, ultimately, proved costly but the GB&I players also had to contend with the sudden and worrying departure of their captain, Russell Weir, who was taken to a local hospital on Saturday as a precautionary measure.

“I had an allergic reaction to red numbers,” joked Weir in reference to the earlier US dominance of affairs.

Weir, the Dunoon veteran whose passion for the PGA Cup remains undiminished, was back in fine fettle yesterday and his re-appearance on the sidelines must have given his troops fresh hope and inspiration.