U.S. Walker Cup team adds first trio: Sargent, Thorbjornsen, D. Ford

The top three Americans in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, David Ford, Gordon Sargent, and Michael Thorbjornsen, have been added as the first three players on the 2023 U.S. Walker Cup team. It will mark each amateur’s first time competing in the biennial event.

Ford, 20, of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, just finished his sophomore year at North Carolina. Ford was recently named a first-team-All-American, voted ACC Player of the Year and selected to this year’s Palmer Cup team. He was also recognized as both a Haskins Award finalist and Hogan Award semifinalist. Ford also won the 2022 Southern Amateur.

Sargent, a 20-year-old from Birmingham, Alabama, has had quite the past year or so for Vanderbilt. He won the 2022 NCAA individual title and also captured the Phil Mickelson Award as a freshman. As a sophomore, he was the SEC Player of the Year and posted eight top-5 finishes, including three wins. Last week, he was T-39 at the U.S. Open to claim low-amateur honors.

Thorbjornsen, 21, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, just wrapped up his junior year at Stanford, totaling eight top-10s, including a win at the Pac-12 Championship. After earning medalist honors at the Summit, N.J., final qualifier earlier this month, Thorbjornsen competed in his third U.S. Open. In 2019, he finished solo 79th at the U.S. Open, the youngest since WWII to make the cut at the championship. He also was the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur champ.

The remaining seven members of the 10-man American squad will be announced by the USGA’s International Team Selection working group in two additional waves – in late July and after the U.S. Amateur in mid-August. The Walker Cup will be contested Sept. 2-3 at St. Andrews’ Old Course in Scotland.

Sargent’s selection to the Walker Cup has further implications. After the U.S. Open, Sargent moved to 16 PGA Tour University Accelerated points. The program states that if college players reach 20 points, given for completing a variety of benchmarks, by the end of their junior seasons, they receive a PGA Tour card for the following summer and the season after that. For playing in the Walker Cup, Sargent will get two points. He also is expected to make the World Amateur Team Championship this summer, receiving an additional point. So, he’d need to make the cut in the PGA Tour event this summer – he’s expected to play two – to earn his Tour card starting June 2024.