Max Kennedy and Ben James share the spoils in a thriller

Max Kennedy and Ben James played a classic in the Arnold Palmer Cup at Lahinch, halving the 18th hole in birdie fours to share the spoils at All Square.

It turned out to be a better result for the Americans, who managed to claw back some points at the end of the day to win two Palmer Cups in a row. But this match summed up the mood of the entire week.

The difference between the two was never more than a hole, as three holes were halved in birdies. Royal Dublin’s Kennedy was five under par at the start of the match and James four under par.

“Yeah, I’m sure this won’t be our last fight,” joked Kennedy, who hopes to tour with James in the future.

“I’ve been playing well all week. Today Ben and I had a really good fight and went head-to-head all day. There was only one in it all day, and I think a half was a fair result today.

“It was always close. All day long. I was holding on to a one-to-one lead for most of the day. And then Ben made a great birdie on 15 in the wind. And you know, we halved the last one in birdie, so it was a good match.”

Kennedy has been showing big moments all week. He holed seven feet on the par-4 13th hole in the mixed foursomes on Saturday and reached the fourth hole in his singles match. But when it looked like the U.S. was regaining momentum Sunday night, Kennedy provided another big moment to stem the bleeding at the Internationals.

The Dubliner hit the long shot left off the tee and right with his second shot and after leaving his recovery pitch in position Z on the edge of the green, he hit a double breaker from 30 feet for a par that saved him a half and kept the match in the balance until the final shot.

“I thought it was going to be a draw and just ended up right in more rough. And then I didn’t have much to work with on the chip shot. And then that putt (30 feet) was pretty cool. I thought I could make it!

“He’s standing there. He had a good three or four foot break from right to left. And he was phenomenal and just fell into the fringe. It was a great putt.”

This was Kennedy’s second appearance in the Palmer Cup and despite once again not getting the correct result he thoroughly enjoyed the week, taking two and a half points from four games.

“The whole atmosphere around Lahinch was incredible, I couldn’t have asked for a better week and to top it all off it was a great race too.

“It’s been phenomenal. It’s one of the best weeks I’ve ever had, especially being here in Ireland and here in Lahinch, which is probably the home of golf in Ireland. It’s fun and I couldn’t have asked for a better week.”