The United States team emerged victorious at the 2023 World Amateur Team Championship in Abu Dhabi. | USGA
The United States, led by Gordon Sargent, Nick Dunlap, and David Ford, emerged victorious and won the Eisenhower Trophy in Abu Dhabi.
The Eisenhower Trophy is headed back to the United States for the first time in nine years.
Led by amateur stars Gordon Sargent, Nick Dunlap, and David Ford, the U.S. team shot a collective 18-under score of 540.
Scoring works like this: all three players play 72 holes of stroke play over four days. But only the two best scores are taken for each round.
So during Saturday’s final round, Ford, who plays for the University of North Carolina, shot an incredible 8-under 64.
Meanwhile, Dunlap, who won the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills in August, fired a 4-under 68.
Photo by Martin Dokoupil/Getty Images
Nick Dunlap plays a shot during the final day of the 2023 World Amateur Team Championship.
Sargent then carded a 1-under 71, meaning Ford’s and Dunlap’s scores equate to 132, 12-under par.
The U.S. won by 11 shots, as Norway and Australia each shot a 551 over the four days.
“I played last year [at the World Amateur Team Championship in France], and obviously we didn’t finish the way we wanted to,” Sargent said after the round.
“That kind of stung standing there on the podium looking up at the guys who won, so it was nice to come here and get the job done. That flight home would not have been very fun if we had come in second.”
Last year, Italy won the Eisenhower Trophy, as the Italians finished one stroke ahead of a Swedish team led by Ludvig Åberg.
The Americans, meanwhile, finished in third.
But like their victory in the Walker Cup in early September, the Americans emerged victorious this time around.
“It feels sweet,” Ford said after the round. “We know each other really well. We all got to share in winning the Walker Cup, so to represent our country well again here means the world.”
Photo by Martin Dokoupil/Getty Images
Gordon Sargent hits a tee shot during the final round of the World Amateur Team Championship.
Funny enough, this year marks the first instance in which the U.S. won the Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy in the same year.
Before this year, the World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) took place in even years, while the Walker Cup was held in odd years.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed that, as the 2020 edition of the WATC was canceled. Going forward, these two events will occur in the same year.
The United States will try to defend its WATC title in 2025 where Singapore will host. Hopefully, another global pandemic will not alter those plans.
Nevertheless, Sargent, Ford, and Dunlap will return home with the Eisenhower Trophy this weekend, which is exactly what Bryson DeChambeau, Beau Hossler, and Denny McCarthy did in 2014.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
