Bryson DeChambeau makes surprise Walker Cup appearance to motivate Team USA

On Friday night, hours before the 2025 Walker Cup at Cypress Point got underway, the GB&I team received a motivational message from Rory McIlroy. In the minute-long video, McIlroy, who was a member of the last European Ryder Cup team to win on American soil, noted how special the opportunity in front of the GB&I team is at the famed Monterey Peninsula track.

“As someone who played a Walker Cup and wasn’t able to quite get it done, and then to go on to play Ryder Cups and be able to beat the Yanks in their own backyard, nothing feels better,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy then ended the message with a Ryder Cup promise ahead of the 2025 event at Bethpage Black.

“Please beat them because I know we’re going to beat them at Bethpage,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy’s message spurred GB&I to a 3-1 foursomes session to open the Walker Cup. But Team USA got its own boost during the evening session in the form of an American Ryder Cup star: Bryson DeChambeau.

The two-time U.S. Open champion, who played on the 2015 Walker Cup team that lost 16.5 to 9.5, arrived Saturday evening as the Americans battled to retake the lead during the singles portion of Day 1. As American Jase Summy and GB&I’s Eliot Baker were tied heading to the 18th green, DeChambeau ducked under the ropes and stood with American captain Nathan Smith and the rest of the team that was huddled under the tree.

DeChambeau, who will make his Ryder Cup return in a few weeks, proved to be good luck. Just as DeChambeau arrived, Baker missed his putt and Summy won the match to give the Americans a critical point and allow them to take a lead into Sunday.

“That was pretty special,” Smith said of DeChambeau coming to support the team. “I’d say my first thought is, I hadn’t seen him in years, and he’s gotten a lot bigger.”

DeChambeau then hung out with the Americans in the locker room before giving them a pep talk ahead of Sunday’s final day.