Everything you need to know: 49th Walker Cup at St. Andrews

Please Share

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – The Home of Golf, St. Andrews’ Old Course, is ready to host its ninth Walker Cup this weekend when Great Britain and Ireland welcomes a loaded U.S. squad, which is looking to win its fourth straight match.

The Old Course first hosted the Walker Cup exactly 100 years ago. That was just the second official edition of what is now a biennial team match-play event between the two 10-man sides. The Americans won that year by a point, 6.5-5.5, as they rallied from a 3-1 deficit after the foursomes session (there were just two sessions back then, four foursomes the first day and eight singles matches the second day).

The U.S. won despite Jess Sweetser, who a year prior had waxed Bobby Jones, 8 and 7, in the final of the U.S. Amateur, and Francis Ouimet, the 1913 U.S. Open champ, not earning a single point. Ouimet, though, delivered a clutch halve (no half-points were awarded at the time), rolling in an 18-foot birdie putt despite being stymied by competitor Roger Wethered. With five singles wins, the U.S. were able squeak out what would be the second of nine straight Walker Cup wins to open the series.

GB&I won its first Walker Cup in 1938 … at St. Andrews, which also hosted in 1926 (U.S.), 1934 (U.S.), 1947 (U.S.), 1955 (U.S.), 1971 (GB&I) and 1975 (U.S.).

The Walker Cup has delivered so many great moments in this sport, and this year’s 49th edition certainly has potential to add to the list. Here is everything you need to know to get ready for this weekend’s Walker Cup at St. Andrews:

Course

St. Andrews Golf Links (Old Course), St. Andrews, Scotland
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,313 yards
Course rating/slope: 73.4/136

Teams

Listed in order of World Amateur Golf Ranking with college affiliation in parentheses

United States

1 – Gordon Sargent, 20, Birmingham, Alabama (Vanderbilt)
4 – David Ford, 20, Peachtree Corners, Georgia (North Carolina)
5 – Nick Dunlap, 19, Huntsville, Alabama (Alabama)
6 – Dylan Menante, 22, Carlsbad, California (North Carolina)
7 – Ben James, 19, Milford, Connecticut (Virginia)
8 – Caleb Surratt, 19, Indian Trail, North Carolina
9 – Austin Greaser, 21, Vandalia, Ohio (North Carolina)
10 – Nick Gabrelcik, 21, Trinity, Florida (North Florida)
14 – Preston Summerhays, 21, Scottsdale, Arizona
18 – Stewart Hagestad***, 32, Newport Beach, California (USC grad)
Captain: Mike McCoy, Des Moines, Iowa

Great Britain and Ireland

13 – John Gough, 24, England (Charlotte grad)
26 – Barclay Brown*, 22, England (Stanford)
31 – Calum Scott, 20, Scotland (Texas Tech)
53 – Matthew McClean, 30, Ireland
70 – James Ashfield, 22, Wales
90 – Jack Bigham, 19, England (Florida State)
97 – Mark Power*, 23, Ireland (Wake Forest grad)*
140 – Liam Nolan, 23, Ireland
144 – Alex Maguire, 22, Ireland
210 – Connor Graham, 16, Scotland
Captain: Stuart Wilson

*-represents a previous Walker Cup appearance

Schedule

Friday – Opening ceremony, noon ET
Saturday – Foursomes (four matches), 3:30 a.m. ET; Singles (eight matches), 8:45 a.m. ET
Sunday – Foursomes (four matches), 3 a.m.; Singles (10 matches), 8:15 a.m. ET; Closing ceremony, 2 p.m. ET

How to watch

Saturday – Golf Channel, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. ET
Sunday – Golf Channel, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 10: (Top L-R) Team USA captain John “Spider” Miller, Maverick McNealy, Will Zalatoris, Stewart Hagestad, Norman Xiong, Cameron Champ, (Bottom L-R) Braden Thornberry, Doc Redman, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, and Doug Ghim pose with the Walker Cup Trophy after defeating the Great Britain and Ireland Team 19-7 at the 2017 Walker Cup on September 10, 2017 at the Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Recent results

While the U.S. leads the all-time series, 38-9-1, and has won three straight, the Americans’ victory four years ago at Royal Liverpool marked their first across the pond since 2007. Here is a quick look at the past 10 Walker Cups:

2021 – Seminole GC, Juno Beach, Florida (USA 14, GB&I 12)
2019 – Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, England (USA 15½, GB&I 10½)
2017 – The Los Angeles Country Club (USA 19, GB&I 7)
2015 – Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Lancashire, England (GB&I 16½, USA 9½)
2013 – National Golf Links of America, Southampton, New York (USA 17, GB&I 9)
2011 – Royal Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland (GB&I 14, USA 12)
2009 – Merion GC, Ardmore, Pennsylvania (USA 16½, GB&I 9½)
2007 – Royal County Down, Newcastle, Northern Ireland (USA 12½, GB&I 11½)
2005 – Chicago GC, Wheaton, Illinois (USA 12½, GB&I 11½)
2003 – Ganton GC, Ganton, England (GB&I 12½, USA 11½)

Future sites

Sept. 6-7, 2025 – Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, California
Sept. 5-6, 2026 – Lahinch GC, County Clare, Ireland
2028 – Bandon Dunes, Bandon, Oregon
2032 – Oakmont CC, Oakmont, Pennsylvania
2036 – Chicago GC, Wheaton, Illinois

Source link