Sport

'Showing What We Can Do': Injured Forces Golfers Face Off

The USA's injured forces golfers have retained the Simpson Cup against their British counterparts.

It's the sixth edition of the tournament, which gives injured personnel the chance to recreate the format of the Ryder Cup.

The competition has been running since 2012, with this year's events taking place at the famous Royal Birkdale.

It began at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, in Florida, and this time it's the third visit to the UK, at the home of this year's Open Championship.

It was founded by John Simpson, who also started up the On Course Foundation, which supports and rehabilitates injured service personnel through golf.

On the course, last year's winners were in sparkling form, winning all of the foursomes, leaving the Brits with a huge job in the 12 singles matches.

The USA only needed three points to retain the cup, and Chad Pfeifer's 5-4 win over fellow professional Mike Brown gave them the perfect start.

Wins for Dave Hughes and Ian Bishop briefly gave the UK hope - but the inevitable came with Andrew Bachelder sealing the point they needed on the 18th, where fellow Texan Jordan Spieth sealed the Open three months ago. He said:

"It means a lot to the team in the United States to come over here and be able to win on this soil. [It's a] totally different type of golf course, which is amazing."

The Simpson Cup is all about camaraderie and mutual respect though. British captain Paul Skivington said:

"The Americans played some fantastic golf and I'd like to take this time to congratulate Shaun [Whitmore, USA captain] on an amazing year. It's been an honour and a privilege to be captains together.

The USA skipper said: "[We're] showing everybody what we can do, instead of being told what we can't do."

The Brits will now look ahead to next year, where they'll give it their all to take the title from the Americans in their own back yard.