Lahinch was the perfect theatre as Ireland’s Stuart Grehan went mano-a-mano against the world’s top amateur over 36 holes on day one of the Walker Cup, taking one-and-a-half points from Preston Stout.

It was a day of golf at its purest as a knowledgeable crowd at the Co Clare links were treated to an intimate affair with the R&A allowing fans to follow every shot from close range and walk the pristine fairways side-by-side with the players.

The Irish Open at Lahinch had up to 20,000 people per day, whereas the Walker Cup limits it to 8,000. The location of the Old Course of Lahinch so close to the town means that even passersby can have a look on from the road on the fourth and fifth holes and fans sat only a few feet from the putting surface on the ninth.

Not that it made it any less noisy though, as the local crowd gave it socks for the GB&I players, particularly home favourite Grehan, the lone Irish player who played the opening tee shot in his foursomes alongside England’s Elliot Baker against opponents Stout and world number nine Ethan Fang.

As the masses followed Grehan all day, it felt like more than 8,000 on site as they crowded alongside their man. With some Clare jerseys spotted in the crowd, it gave the feel of the rush of a post-GAA match pitch invasion, with excited fans almost chasing the ball down to the greens. Stout would later express his displeasure at “f*****g terrible crowd control” as the pressure came on in his singles match.

The crowd though displayed good nature and decorum throughout, even if one spectator would call Stout “slow as f**k” after a typically methodical pre-shot routine. But at least the comments were only to the ears of a handful in close proximity rather than shouted in his face like the last Ryder Cup.

That crowd freedom was occasionally taken advantage of, with one young fan approaching Grehan for an autograph at a tense moment in his foursomes match, a request that was politely declined.

With smaller crowds, it was not difficult to find an unobstructed view, particularly at the sixth hole, aptly named Paradise, as the sound of waves crashing and the sun coming out gave it a heavenly complexion.

“My God, what a hole,” mused one of the American visitors as they looked out at Liscannor Bay.

The west of Ireland weather has a mind of its own, from 60km/h winds on Friday to lashing rain on Thursday. On Saturday morning there was only a gentle breeze, with even the Americans in their T-shirts by the end of their round.

Grehan led the way for GB&I in a tit-for-tat match and put his team ahead by hitting the green in one on the short par-four 13th.

The Tullamore man was left with several long lag putts and chips on the way in, with Grehan saying Baker was “probably giving me a little bit far today considering where we were”. One particularly adept pitch at the 14th left his partner clapping along with the gallery.

The match had a wild finish typical of match play, Stout holing from 25 feet for birdie on 16 and Baker missing from three feet on 17 to give the Americans the lead. Stout and Fang had struggled with a stomach virus earlier in the week and Stout’s final putt would have left him sick to his stomach, missing from short-range to make it honours even in the opening game.

Grehan was bullish about his game afterwards, but with barely time for a patron to sink a Guinness, he was back facing Stout again in the first match of the singles. A few clumsy shots by Grehan and the world number one was three up through three, Grehan a picture of dejection when his tee shot at the fourth went awry into the hay on the Klondyke hole.

Stout and Grehan are in different stages of their career. For Stout, winner of the Mark McCormack medal following in the footsteps of the likes of Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick and Patrick Cantlay, his goal is to be top dog before focusing on winning PGA Tour tournaments. At 22, the Texan has a professional-ready game, finishing 15th at the John Deere Classic during the summer.

For Grehan, this is his major, a week he had pencilled down from the moment he was reinstated to play as an amateur. At 33 years old and with this only being the third staging of the Walker Cup in Ireland, moments like this may never come around again.

Grehan managed to manufacture a shot towards the green and get up and down for birdie to halve the hole. He then played some of the golf of his life, making eight birdies in 14 holes, despite the course toughening up in high winds. One highlight came with a birdie on the 10th by Grehan from 20 feet, with a big first bump and arms in the air to gee up the crowd.

Stout had his fair share of highlights too, particularly a 170-yard 7-iron to six inches at the 15th to make it two up, keeping Grehan at arm’s length with his seventh birdie of the day.

But then a few uncharacteristic stumbles by Stout with bogeys at 16 and 17 opened the door. All square heading to the final hole, it was the finale the match deserved.

Grehan was in trouble off the tee, but a great wedge left him 14 feet for birdie on the par-5 to win the match. His putt went straight in the middle of the cup, it was never anywhere else. Ireland’s star amateur had set the tone for his team as they aim to win their first Walker Cup since 2015.