Published on September 13, 2014

Karuizawa, Japan; Denny McCarthy’s eight-under-par 64 and Bryson DeChambeau’s nine-foot birdie putt on the 18th green for a 71 clinched the Eisenhower Trophy for the USA, which staved off the charge of Canada to win the World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) for the 15th time.
“It was very exciting right down to the last putt,” USA captain Jim Hyler said. “I’m so thrilled for these three young men, they played really hard all four days. We had different people count each day and it is a team event and I think the way it worked out for us really highlights what a great team event it is.”
The Americans won at Karuizawa 72 Golf East with a record score of 38-under-par 534, eclipsing the 554 total of the Netherlands in 2006 by 20 strokes.
Canada won the silver medal, two strokes behind the USA at 536 and Spain, fuelled by the lowest individual score in history by Jon Rahm, won the bronze medal at 537.
Despite home continent advantage, no Asian nation was able to mount a serious challenge.
With a team total of 23-under 549 – 15 strokes behind the winners – Chinese Taipei ended as the leading Asian representative in 16th place.
They were followed by Korea [18th, 551], Singapore [tied 25th, 558], India [tied 29th, 560] and Japan [tied 29th, 560], Thailand [tied 33rd, 563], Malaysia [tied 35th, 564], China [38th, 565], Hong Kong [tied 39th, 567] and the Philippines [47th, 594].
The five leading Asian individuals were Indian Udayan Mane [272], Korean Youm Eun-ho [273], Malaysian Gavin Green [275], Chinese Taipei’s Pan Cheng-tsung [276] and Singaporean Jonathan Woo [278].
The previous mark for low individual score for 72 holes was held by Jack Nicklaus, who shot 269 in 1960. Rahm-s four rounds were 70-64-62-67 for 23-under-par 263.
“I’m about ready to cry because, honestly, Jack Nicklaus is a hero,” said Rahm, an All-American at Arizona State. “I can’t really explain how good it feels to beat his record. It’s just unbelievable.”
The USA, which also won in Turkey in 2012, has now recorded 27 top five finishes in 29 Eisenhower Trophy competitions.
Forty-two of the 67 teams posted 72-hole totals that were under par.
The WATC is a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF), which comprises 137 national governing bodies in 131 countries. The competition, which was being held for the 26th time, is rotated among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe-Africa.
This year’s event was hosted by the Japan Golf Association.