Scottish golfer savours 'best feeling of life' - even if next few days will be sobering

“I still can’t quite believe it,” admitted the 21-year-old as he reflected on being part of what has been hailed by Ryder Cup-winning captain Paul McGinley as “one of the greatest comebacks in golfing history” as Great Britain & Ireland triumphed in the 51st Walker Cup at Lahinch on Sunday.

Helped by Shiels Donegan delivering a crucial half point before compatriot Connor Graham did likewise after finishing birdie-birdie, Dean Robertson’s side pulled off the biggest fightback in the event’s history by coming from 9.5-6.5 down heading into the concluding session to land a dramatic 13.5-12.5 win in County Clare.

It was GB&I’s first victory in the contest since 2015 at Royal Lytham and was sweet revenge for tartan trio Robertson, Graham and Shiels Donegan after they’d all been involved in last year’s ultimate heavy defeat at the hands of the USA at Cypress Point in California.

“Yeah, that was the best feeling of my life after Josh [Hill] holed that putt,” added Shiels Donegan of the Englishman emerging as the home hero after producing an incredible bunker shot up the length of the green at the par-5 18th then holding his nerve to hole a testing three-foot par putt as a throng of people surrounded the green. “Everyone had counted us out as the singles are America’s strong suit. But we just went out and tried to do our individual job and it worked out.”

From leading by a point at the halfway stage on Saturday night, GB&I suddenly found themselves with a mountain to climb after the US pulled off a 4-0 whitewash in Sunday morning’s foursomes session. A six straight defeat in the contest was staring the home side in the face.

“Josh and I were the last group out in the foursomes,” said Shiels Donegan. “We lost our match on 15 and got a ride back. The minute we got into the team room the tunes were going and no-one really cared about what had happened - we’d all moved on. And we all understood the assignment we had for the afternoon. It played a very big role in how it turned out.”

After an opening foursomes win alongside Hill, Shiels Donegan beat world No 2 Tyler Watts in his Saturday singles match before digging deep to get his equally important half point against 11th-ranked Kihei Akina in the concluding session. “I’m very proud of my week - I feel like I represented GB&I well,” said Shiels Donegan, the world No 18 and Scottish No 1.

“What Dean did by putting Stuart [Grehan, the sole Irishman in the side) out first was huge and, through him playing amazing golf in both his singles, you could feel the energy back through the order and all the way down. It definitely helped me as it gave me a little boost here and there. There were moments when I felt it was going in the wrong direction very quickly. It helped keep the energy levels up and stopped you from becoming too negative.”

Hill had been somewhat of a controversial pick, yet the lowest-ranked player among the 20 certainly vindicated the faith shown in home by former Scottish amateur champion Robertson. “I don’t think it could have been the more perfect person or more perfect moment,” said Shiels Donegan. “I played with Josh in the foursomes and he is such a good guy, such an amazing player. Everyone doubted him and felt that was the wrong pick, so for him to do that was just the perfect end to the perfect week.”

‘We had a job to do and, luckily, we did it!’

The match has been tagged as ‘The Legend of Lahinch’ and rightly so. “We are the tenth team to ever win the Walker Cup for GB&I,” noted Shiels Donegan. “I mean, I’m not going to claim to be a legend. We all did our job and, collectively, we might be looked on as a legend, I suppose. We are a group of guys who had a job to do and, luckily, we did it.”

Robertson created history by becoming the first Scot to captain a winning Walker Cup side, succeeding where nine others had failed over the years. “One thing Dean did a really good job for us last week was perspective,” said California-based Shiels Donegan. “Obviously he lost his father earlier this year and he brought his family into the team room. He also brought Scott Meenah, a Paralympian and former armed forces member, in to speak to us. He told us his life story and gave us perspective to understand that this was just golf. It’s not a place to feel stressed or scared. You are out here playing a game you love, so just go out and enjoy it.

“All the stuff - the little details - that Dean did since he was named as captain added up and made the difference in the end. Raymond [Russell], too. His connection with Dean makes them the perfect pair. All the support staff were close to us all last week, talking to us all the time. It was amazing for us.”

Shiels Donegan was speaking to The Scotsman en route to Shannon Airport as he headed back to resume his senior year at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. “I’m landing at 6.30pm and have a class at 9.30am the next morning,” he revealed. “On Thursday, I’m then up at 4am to get a flight to Washington and play golf in Seattle for the team. I don’t know how I’m ever going to get myself up for that after last week - but I will figure it out, I am sure.”

His biggest fans - mum Maggie Shiels and dad Lawrence Donegan - were there in Lahinch to savour a memorable week. “Yeah, they’ve been amazing,” said Shiels Donegan. “They have given me the platform to try and attain things like this.”