Nathaniel Crosby – Syndication Server

East dominates East West Matches 31½-13½ at Maridoe Golf Club

The Ryder Cup-style event combines three generations of amateur golf talent from across the U.S.

CARROLTON, Texas — The second playing of the East West Matches concluded Sunday afternoon with the East completing a wire-to-wire win.

The Ryder Cup-style event is the brainchild of mid-am Scott Harvey and Maridoe Golf Club owner and oil tycoon Albert Hudleston. Combining three generations of amateur golf talent from across the U.S., the East West Matches is one of the most talent-laden events in all of amateur golf.

Looking to avenge a painful loss in the first playing of the Matches, the East through two days was replicating what it did in 2020.

Friday saw the East jump out to a 6-3 lead in four-ball before the skies burst open and drenched the course with more than an inch and a half of rain. With the course softened up and true rolling greens, the East picked up another 11 ½ points during Saturday’s marathon 36-hole foursomes matches.

Leading 17 ½ – 9 ½, captain Nathaniel Crosby’s team needed just 5 ½ singles wins to defeat the West and avenge the loss from two years ago.

Did the East deliver.

In the 18 singles matches Sunday, 14 of them were won by the East and only seven even made it to the 18th hole. Joe Deraney of the East squad looked at the leaderboard while watching his teammates come through the par-3 14th and smiled.

“It’s not like last time,” he said.

Blowing a double-digit lead Sunday in 2020, you could tell that Deraney and others that were on that team wanted so badly to claim the victory and make up for that meltdown.

The East surrendered just three matches to the West and split two more. The 14-4 drubbing resulted in a final score of 31 ½ – 13 ½ and gives the East its first win in the infancy of the event.

So what’s the secret to having a team pull out a lopsided win when the talent gap is practically nonexistent? Crosby gave a veteran tip from his multiple Walker Cup captaincies: “I think it was the 3 a.m. curfew that probably was the detail (that did it),” Crosby joked. “The mandatory two hours of sleep for each player, each night. … you have to think it through.”

All kidding aside, the week is more about what amateur golf is truly about: comradery.

“The coolest part about this tournament is you’re putting three generations together,” Crosby said. “Generational friendships are absolutely the best to have. The college kids being able to play with the mid-ams and the mid-ams playing with the seniors, bridging these generations is such a great format. Everybody had such a blast.”

Crosby’s crew will look to defend in 2024 when the East West Matches take place once again at Maridoe.

As for what’s next, a large handful of mid-amateurs and senior amateurs from the East West Matches, including Golfweek’s No. 1 ranked senior, Rusty Strawn, will be heading to Spain for next week’s Concession Cup.

Team rosters

Mid-Amateurs

East: Andrew Bailey, Evan Beck, Chip Brooke, Mark Costanza, Joe Deraney, Jeronimo Esteve, Scott Harvey, Matt Mattare, Tug Maude, Chad Wilfong

West: Jason Anthony, Skip Berkmeyer, Denny Bull, Derek Busby, Patrick Christovich, Nick Guyer, Colby Harwell, John Hunter, Brad Nurski, John Swain

Senior Amateurs

East: Doug Hanzel, Steve Harwell, Billy Mitchell, Bob Royak, Rusty Strawn, Matt Sughrue

West: Tommy Brennan, Jon Brown, Robert Funk, John McClure, Mike McCoy, Mike Rowley

Amateurs

East: Nick Dunlap (Alabama), Caleb Surratt (Tennessee)

West: Derek Hitchner (Pepperdine), Luke Potter (Arizona State)

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Is this the best amateur golf event you’ve never heard of? The second East West Matches should bring fireworks

The East West Matches bring together some of the best amateurs, mid-ams and senior amateurs in the United States.

In its infancy, the East West Matches is maybe the best amateur golf event you’ve never heard of.

The second playing of the event is set to tee off this weekend, Nov. 4-6.

The brainchild of two-time USGA champion and former Walker Cup participant Scott Harvey, the East West Matches combine some of the best amateurs, mid-ams and senior amateurs in the United States. The Ryder Cup-style event features two amateur players, six senior amateurs and 10 mid-amateur players per side.

The matches are back at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, where the inaugural Cup was won in dramatic fashion by the West in 2020. In fact, the man that clinched the winning half-point for the West, Patrick Christovich, is back to help the West defend their title.

Captained by 2005 U.S. Mid-Am champion, Kevin Marsh, the West has experience under pressure on its side. Returning Skip Berkmeyer, Derek Busby, Patrick Christovich, Brad Nurski and Robert Funk, the West is armed with a crew that went 9-9-1 and was a large part of the West’s monstrous 23-22 comeback win back in 2020.

In addition, the West has two amateur players ranked inside the top 110 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings — Pepperdine’s Derek Hitchner and Arizona State’s Luke Potter are ranked Nos. 105 and 38 in WAGR, respectively. The two should give a spark of energy to their mid-am and senior-am teammates.

The West celebrates its 23-22 comeback win over the East at the inaugural East West Matches (2020) at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas.

On the East side, there’s a sense of hunger and redemption. The East is also returning five players from their 2020 team. A murderer’s row of amateur golf talent that had a combined 2020 record of 15-4-1 but left Maridoe empty-handed.

Joe Deraney, Jeronimo Esteve, Scott Harvey, Doug Hanzel and Bob Royak look to take down the West this year and stake claim to what they came so close to having two years ago. The strength of the East team lies in both seniors and young gun amateurs.

Both Hanzel and Royak went 4-0-0 in the 2020 Matches. Now they bolster their lineup even more with the addition of Golfweek’s No. 1 ranked senior amateur Rusty Strawn. Tried and true, the colts in the East’s stable of talent are Alabama’s Nick Dunlap and Tennessee’s Caleb Surratt.

Dunlap was Golfweek’s No. 1 ranked recruit in the 2022 class and the 2021 AJGA Boys Golfer of the Year. Surratt is currently ranked No. 15 in WAGR and is the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up.

Who’s running the stable for the East, you ask? That would be two-time Walker Cup captain Nathaniel Crosby.

The East has brought out the big guns, but will they be able to redeem themselves after such a disappointing finish in 2020?

Time will tell and if we learned anything from the inaugural East West Matches, we know that anything can happen over the course of three days at Maridoe Golf Club.

Full Rosters

Mid-Amateurs

East: Andrew Bailey, Evan Beck, Chip Brooke, Mark Costanza, Joe Deraney, Jeronimo Esteve, Scott Harvey, Matt Mattare, Tug Maude, Chad Wilfong

West: Jason Anthony, Skip Berkmeyer, Denny Bull, Derek Busby, Patrick Christovich, Nick Guyer, Colby Harwell, John Hunter, Brad Nurski, John Swain

Senior Amateurs

East: Doug Hanzel, Steve Harwell, Billy Mitchell, Bob Royak, Rusty Strawn, Matt Sughrue

West: Tommy Brennan, Jon Brown, Robert Funk, John McClure, Mike McCoy, Mike Rowley

Amateurs

East: Nick Dunlap (Alabama) & Caleb Surratt (Tennessee)

West: Derek Hitchner (Pepperdine) & Luke Potter (Arizona State)

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U.S. pulls off a close Walker Cup victory amid a dazzling Seminole backdrop

The U.S. team got the win everyone predicted. Captain Nathaniel Crosby received the proper curtain call. And Seminole Golf Club dazzled.

JUNO BEACH – The U.S. team got the victory everyone predicted Sunday.

U.S. captain Nathaniel Crosby received the proper curtain call.

And Seminole Golf Club dazzled like everyone expected.

That’s how the 48th Walker Cup Match will be remembered: For the golf, the drama and the incredible beauty that is Seminole.

Florida sophomore Ricky Castillo went 4-0 for the U.S. and Cole Hammer scored the deciding point as the heavily-favored Americans held off a valiant effort by Great Britain-Ireland for a 14-12 victory. It was the fifth consecutive victory for the U.S. team on home soil and improved its series lead to 38-9-1.

“It means the world to me,” said Hammer, who went 3-0-1. “I had no idea I was the clinching putt. Living up to expectations are hard. We looked great on paper, but winning is still a difficult deal.”

Castillo defeated Joe Murphy, 2 and 1, and Hammer easily beat Ben Schmidt, 4 and 3. Castillo and Hammer were a combined 7-0-1.

“It’s a pretty cool experience for my first Walker Cup,” Castillo said. “This is the pinnacle of amateur golf.”

Stewart Hagestad, at 30 the oldest player on the U.S. team, struggled while losing his first two matches and lost his first two holes to Ben Jones. But Hagestad won five consecutive holes, starting at No. 9, to coast to a 4-and-2 win and give the U.S. its 14th point.

“I feel very lucky to be a part of it,” Hagestad said. “These guys are so talented and they are going to go on and have great careers.”

Paced by Austin Eckroat’s 7-and-6 trouncing of previously undefeated Mark Power and Pierceson Coody’s 3-and-1 victory over Andrew Fitzpatrick, the Americans got an early boost to gain the 4 ½ points they needed in singles.

“I had the momentum the whole round,” Eckroat said. “It was one of those days where I made all the putts and he missed them all.”

GB&I had closed the U.S.’s advantage to 8 ½-7 ½ after Sunday’s foursomes, but never could gain the lead.

“There’s been a lot of chatter about us hanging in there,” said GB&I captain Stuart Wilson said. “But we let the Americans away with too much.”

GB&I’s Joe Long, who was playing for the first time after being sidelined by the stomach virus, took advantage of John Pak’s shot into the penalty area and a chunked trip on the 18th hole to keep the visitors alive with a 2-up victory.

GB&I got more late heroics from Matty Lamb, who won the 17th hole to beat Davis Thompson, 2 up, but the U.S.’s Quade Cummins won the 18th to get a halve over Barclay Brown.

Reigning U.S. Amateur Tyler Strafaci finally got a chance to play in the Walker Cup after also being sidelined by stomach issues and taken to the hospital for fluids on Saturday. He lost both matches Sunday, however.

Seminole certainly didn’t disappoint

With dignitaries such as the 43rd U.S. President George W. Bush – his great-grandfather George Herbert Walker donated the Walker Cup – and legend Jack Nicklaus on hand, the Donald Ross gem amazed and confounded some of the world’s best amateurs with its ridiculously quick greens.

It’s the first time Seminole has hosted a Walker Cup, which was probably overdue considering the membership includes nine former players and 11 former captains. Seminole president Jimmy Dunne decided it was better late than never.

“Seminole is a really special place,” Dunne said as the final pairings teed off Sunday. “It was always our dream to open it to the amateur world.”

Crosby, a longtime Seminole member who first visited the club with his father Bing in the mid-1970s, is glad he decided to serve another captaincy after leading the team to a victory in 2019 at Royal Portrush. He originally hesitated after the thrill of two years ago.

“This is full circle for me,” Crosby said. “It was a miracle beyond miracles we had the event when everyone started getting sick. The Walker Cup is a spectacle. To win at Seminole is a dream for me.”

Crosby pointed out the Walker Cup, without spectator ropes, provides a rare chance for golf fans to walk among some of the game’s top players before they become famous. It’s not like that in other sports.

“Fifty percent of these guys will go on to become Tour stars,” he said. “People understand college basketball, but I think they really miss seeing these guys before they become marquee.”

The Walker Cup is so special that Bob Ford, Seminole’s head professional since 2000, waited until the event was held before he retired after a brilliant career that included 37 years as head pro at Oakmont Country Club. It proved to be a fitting curtain call.

“It exceeded my expectations,” Ford said. “The members are so proud. I don’t think anything could have gone better.”

Golf fans were treated to a more competitive Walker Cup than most imagined. The U.S. never trailed the last two days and finally found a way to win the Cup.

Sure, there was a pesky stomach virus that altered pairings, made life miserable for the players and complicated for the captains. But in the end, it was all about the golf.

As it should be.

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U.S. team clings to Walker Cup lead heading into Sunday singles matches

Great Britain & Ireland has an opportunity to stage a rally on foreign soil at storied Seminole Golf Club.

JUNO BEACH, Fla. – Two years ago, the U.S. team overcame a 7-5 deficit to win the Walker Cup on foreign soil. Sunday, Great Britain-Ireland gave itself an opportunity to stage a similar rally at storied Seminole Golf Club.

GB&I won two foursomes matches and halved another with an incredible comeback Sunday morning to pull within 8 ½-7 ½ of the heavily-favored Americans entering Sunday’s 10 singles matches.

Angus Flanagan and Ben Schmidt were four down after eight holes, but won the last two holes – with a par and a bogey – to earn a crucial half point with a halve against Cole Hammer and Davis Thompson. Hammer and Thompson were hurt by two bad lies near bunkers on 17 and 18, which led to a bogey and double bogey.

“It was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride today,” said U.S. captain Nathaniel Crosby Jr. “We lost the last two holes (in the final match) with two tragic lies. It’s going to be nip and tuck, that’s for sure.”

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The U.S. still has the lead, and the belief it will dominate singles play. In the last seven Walker Cups, the Americans have enjoyed a 28-point advantage over GB&I in singles.

Yet this GB&I squad has been resilient all week. No doubt Sunday morning’s finish gave them a shot of momentum as they try to win on U.S. soil for the first time in the last five matches.

“We are getting better each session handling the golf course,” GB&I captain Stuart Wilson said. “We want them to embrace the pressure and use it as a positive thing.”

Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Tyler Strafaci made his long-awaited Walker Cup debut Sunday after being taken to the hospital Saturday with a stomach virus that has plagued both teams this week. Strafaci’s start didn’t go well – he and veteran Stewart Hagestad were soundly beaten by Jack Dyer and Matty Lamb, 6 and 5.

Ricky Castillo is the only American to go 3-0. He partnered with William Mouw for a 1-up win over Andrew Fitzpatrick and Barclay Brown. Trailing 1 up on the par-4 16th tee, Castillo drilled a drive within 40 yards of the green and made the 10-foot birdie putt to draw even. Mauw’s par putt at the 17th gave them the lead.

“I knew I could get it up close (to the green) and give Will a chance to hit it close,” said Castillo, a sophomore at Florida. “I knew I had to make it, and I made it.”

GB&I’s Mark Power matched the 3-0 start of Castillo. John Murphy hit a clutch approach at the 18th hole, enabling him and Power to beat Pierceson Coody and John Pak, 1 up. The Irish duo were 2-0 in foursomes.

“I couldn’t think of a better person to play with than John,” Power said. “If we’re having fun and enjoying ourselves, good golf comes from that. That shot he hit into the last hole, the 5-iron, it’s hard to describe how good that was.”

The late halve was the only time in the first 16 matches there wasn’t a winner.

The U.S. team, which leads the series 37-9-1, needs 13 points to retain the cup. GB&I needs 13 ½ to win the Cup.

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He’s back: Renewed Cole Hammer puts big point on board for Americans to open Walker Cup

Cole Hammer is one of only three returners for the U.S. Walker Cup team at Seminole, and he’s already delivered in a big way.

JUNO BEACH, Fla. – First out for the Americans on Saturday morning at the Walker Cup, Cole Hammer effectively lassoed in the match that very easily could have gotten away. Hammer and partner Davis Thompson, both former No. 1-ranked amateurs in the world, were out to a big lead – 3 up on the 14th tee – but nearly let it slip away.

Alex Fitzpatrick had a hand in that drama, holing a big par putt at No. 15 that came in the middle of a three-hole Great Britain and Ireland back-nine run. Fitzpatrick horse-shoed out a par save at the par-3 16th, leaving the door open for the Americans to save the match. Hammer kicked that door closed with a 35-footer for birdie on No. 18 that gave the U.S. the first point on the board.

That turned out to be key an hour later, as the U.S. stood tied 2-2 with GB&I after the first session.

“It was a wild match,” Hammer said. “We tied 1 and 2, and we didn’t tie a hole after that I don’t think. It was a lot of up-and-downs, and we just had to stay in there and try to do our thing.”

That first point feeling!@cole_hammer6765 | #WalkerCup pic.twitter.com/O3XV2Gf7ve

— The Walker Cup (@WalkerCup) May 8, 2021

The golf world continues to get more and more glimpses of Hammer. After his U.S. Open debut at Chambers Bay in 2015 – when he was only 15 years old – his story has become less about his very memorable surname and more about his game. Hammer hysteria arguably peaked in the summer of 2018, after he won the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (along with partner Garrett Barber) and the Western Amateur. He was a semifinalist at both the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur and a year later, ascended to world No. 1 for a total of 12 weeks.

Hammer, now a junior at Texas and the recent winner of the individual Big 12 title, easily made the 2019 Walker Cup team. His pick came courtesy of that No. 1 world ranking. But even before appearing in the matches at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England – as early as the spring of 2019 – Hammer felt his game slipping.

“I wasn’t hitting it well the last Walker Cup,” he said. “I can remember that vividly.”

He won only one point in Hoylake, and that came in Sunday singles. It left a bad taste.

Asked to assess his game on the eve of the 2021 Walker Cup, Hammer revealed a struggle to get back to basics. He was too shut and laid off at the top of his swing, which made it hard to hit the draw he wanted to hit. Hammer went back to work with Bruce Davidson at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, a man he worked with growing up.

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Hammer “wanted with everything in his body” to make another Walker Cup team. He felt behind the eight-ball last fall after missing the cut at the U.S. Amateur and falling in the first round of the Maridoe Amateur.

Selection to the 16-man Walker Cup practice squad in December was a good sign, but here’s a move that revealed his position on the bubble: When, during that week, U.S. captain Nathaniel Crosby asked who was ending his year at the South Beach International Amateur (the last big men’s amateur event on the 2020 schedule), only Hammer’s hand shot up.

He ended up winning that event by five shots.

“I usually don’t play in the winter to take some time off from the college schedule,” he said. “It’s pretty rigorous; we play a lot of golf, but I decided I needed to. So I played in the Maridoe Am, did not play well, so I pretty much knew that I had to play well at the South Beach.

“Honestly it was probably the biggest win I’ve ever had in terms of confidence and in terms of showing myself that I can do it when it matters.”

The Walker Cup - Day 1 — Davis Thompson (left) and Cole Hammer of Team USA look on from the fourth green during Day One of The Walker Cup at Seminole Golf Club on May 08, 2021 in Juno Beach, Florida. (Photo: Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

Talking in late March about how his roster stacked up, Crosby went straight to Hammer.

“My hats off to Cole for having a stick-to-it attitude and coming back after an iffy summer for him,” he said, “and earning his way back onto the team when the last time he was the No. 1 amateur in the world and he was kind of a shoe-in.”

Part of Hammer’s struggles had to do with seeing a shot but not being able to hit it. Now, he said, he’s gotten more comfortable. The results certainly indicate that comfort.

“You know, if you had told me six months ago that I would be happy that I went through the process, I would have told you you’re crazy,” Hammer said the night before the first match, “but sitting here now I’m glad I did it.”

Here’s betting there are several other red-white-and-blue-clad compatriots at Seminole this week that are glad he did, too.

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Americans blow early advantage; Walker Cup all tied after Saturday’s foursomes

Just when it appeared the U.S. was going to take a healthy lead, Great Britain-Ireland rallied to earn a tie on Saturday morning.

JUNO BEACH, Florida – Just when it appeared the United States was going to take a healthy lead in the 48th Walker Cup Match after Saturday morning’s foursomes at Seminole Golf Club, Great Britain and Ireland rallied to earn a 2-2 tie.

The Americans had sizable leads in three matches and were tied in the other on the back nine, but GB&I found their form on Seminole’s devilish closing holes.

This Walker Cup may go the distance; it certainly did in the morning session. It’s the first time since 1983 that all four matches went to the 18th hole.

Both teams had to go to alternates for the first time in the Walker Cup’s 99-year history because of a stomach virus that ran through both teams the last few days. The only reason the alternates were on site this year was due to COVID-19 precautions.

GB&I alternate Jake Bolton made a 30-foot par putt on Seminole’s treacherous 17th hole to lift him and partner Angus Flanagan to a 1-up victory over Stewart Hagestad and William Mouw.

Bolton then hit an approach shot from Seminole’s range to 10 feet at the 18th hole to clinch the victory and enable GB&I to not lose any ground against the heavily-favored Americans who are trying to win on home soil for the fifth consecutive time.

“Obviously, our point is hugely important now,” said England’s Bolton. “I think the guys have a lot of self-belief, and I don’t see why that should change. We’re all good players, and we all deserve to be here, so we’re going to give it our best shot.”

As it was, one of the U.S.’s two wins came when Cole Hammer, well, hammered home a 35-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to help him and partner Davis Thompson eke out a 1-up victory over Alex Fitzpatrick and Barclay Brown. Hammer and Thompson had led by three with five holes left.

“What a wild match,” Hammer said. “It was a lot of up-and-downs, and we just had to stay in there and try to do our thing. I was just lucky enough to be able to roll in that putt.”

Irishmen Mark Power and John Murphy of GB&I fought back from a 3-down deficit after 10 holes to win four of the last five holes to win 1-up over Quade Cummins and Austin Eckroat. Power and Murphy didn’t lead until the 17th hole, squaring the Walker Cup at 1-1.

“We got a couple bad breaks early on, but we just had to not force anything,” Murphy said. This is a golf course of mistakes so let’s let them make the mistakes.”

Cole Hammer of Team USA putts on the 18th green as teammate Davis Thompson looks on during Day One of The Walker Cup at Seminole Golf Club on May 08, 2021, in Juno Beach, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

American alternate Mac Meissner, inserted because of John Pak’s illness, teamed with Ricky Castillo to help the U.S. to a 2-up victory over Jack Dyer and Marty Lamb.

“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions, from being sick on Thursday night to being able to play this morning,” Meissner said. “I was so nervous on that first tee ball that I hit on that second hole, but after that, we calmed down and we played some awesome golf coming in.”

Because of the stomach virus affecting both teams, the USGA changed its rules so the captains could delay announcing their foursomes and singles lineup until late Friday night and midday Saturday, respectively.

“It’s been bizarre for a lot of reasons,” said U.S. captain Nathaniel Crosby Jr., a Seminole member. “I think we have a one-up lead on guys who got sick this week (eight U.S. players to seven for GB&I).

“Hats off to the USGA for being flexible. You don’t want to put guys out there who are sick and ask them to play 36 holes.”

There are eight singles matches Saturday afternoon. Seminole is hosting the Walker Cup for the first time in history.

Afternoon Singles

(All times ET)

2:30 p.m. – Alex Fitzpatrick, GB&I vs. Pierceson Coody, USA
2:41 p.m. – Mark Power, GB&I vs. Davis Thompson, USA
2:52 p.m. – Ben Schmidt, GB&I vs. Ricky Castillo, USA
3:03 p.m. – Ben Jones, GB&I vs. Tyler Strafaci, USA
3:14 p.m. – Joe Long, GB&I vs. Quade Cummins, USA
3:25 p.m. – Angus Flanagan, GB&I vs. Austin Eckroat, USA
3:36 p.m. – Barclay Brown, GB&I vs. John Pak, USA
3:47 p.m. – John Murphy, GB&I vs. Cole Hammer, USA

Nathaniel Crosby brings a deep American squad to Seminole for Walker Cup

Seminole member Nathaniel Crosby has many memories at the iconic South Florida venue. He’s about to add another one.

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JUNO BEACH, Fla. – Nathaniel Crosby has just the squad he wanted this week for a backyard version of the Walker Cup. Crosby, 59 and returning as captain for the U.S. side this week at Seminole Golf Club (where he’s a member), logged many miles in scouting this team. He popped up everywhere from Bandon, Oregon to Miami.

“There weren’t any awkward moments,” he said of the selection process.

No player on the resulting 10-man U.S. team is ranked worse than No. 34 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, with half ranked inside the top 10. Even filling the mid-amateur requirement was a no-brainer – 30-year-old Stewart Hagestad makes it so.

“He would have been on the team whether he was 18 or 60,” Crosby said of Hagestad, who advanced to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Amateur in August.

Given this particular South Florida venue, Crosby was just as much of a no-brainer pick in the captaincy department. He’s the latest in a long line of Walker Cup captains to hold a membership at Seminole, Golfweek’s top-ranked private course in the state of Florida. Crosby knows the place as well as anyone, having first seen the golf course in 1976 when he played four days in a row with George Coleman (club president from 1981 to 1992), his father Bing Crosby and a family friend.

“As a 14-year-old, I shot 76 in a pretty good wind and George Coleman was so impressed with that, he said, ‘I’ll bet you if we play three more times…,’ I said, “I’ll beat that,’” Crosby recalled to Golfweek in May 2020. “And I shot between 75 and 77 the next three days and Coleman won $20 from me.”

When Crosby was an undergraduate at the University of Miami in the early 1980s, he made sure to use each of his allotted 25 rounds per year as a guest at Seminole. He won the first member-guest he played in 1979 as a guest of Doc Hoover, who was a frequent playing partner of Ben Hogan’s and “everyone’s favorite orthopedic in town.”

When Crosby last captained the Americans at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England, there was significant personal history, too. Crosby was a member of the U.S. squad that won there in 1983.

“I can’t really say I’m more excited about it because Hoylake was my first and, you know, had the history there but being that I’m at home and down the street, it’s a phenomenal opportunity for me to have a special experience in front of my homies and family,” Crosby said.

2020 Walker Cup — Jack Nicklaus and U.S. Team Captain Nathaniel Crosby chat during a practice round at the 2021 Walker Cup at Seminole Golf Club. (Chris Keane/USGA)

Many golf fans got eyes on the iconic Donald Ross design in May 2020, when Seminole hosted the TaylorMade Driving Relief charitable match between Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff.

Hagestad expects the course to show well again this month.

“Depending in the wind and the conditions, it will play differently every day and … obviously changing tee markers and kind of how it’s all playing, they have such a great level on where it is for the day,” he said. “The course knowledge that’s there, just kind of the golf IQ of the membership and the genuine care that they have for it, it’s pretty spectacular.”

Traditionally, the Walker Cup is played in early September, but was moved to May to avoid Florida’s hurricane season. The two-day matches fall squarely in the college golf postseason – with conference championship having just wrapped up and NCAA Regionals set to begin May 17.

Eight of the 10 players on the U.S. team are currently on a college roster. Five of the GB&I players currently play college golf in the U.S.

In the aftermath of the American’s comeback victory to defeat GB&I on home soil in 2019 – the first road win for a U.S. team since 2007 and just the second since 1991 – Crosby referenced foursomes preparation as being a key part of his team’s preparation. Crosby said he got an idea of pairings for this week from a December practice session, and as players came in and out of Seminole in the lead-up to the matches.

Each day begins with four foursomes matches between eight singles matches on Saturday afternoon and 10 on Sunday afternoon. In 2019, the U.S. won four and a half of a possible eight points in foursomes.

That year, Hagestad paired twice with then-17-year-old Akshay Bhatia, the youngest player ever selected to a U.S. Walker Cup team. At Seminole, Hagestad said, it’s important to pair with someone who complements your weaknesses.

“It’s not like we haven’t played it before, I think we’ve just been outplayed,” Hagestad said candidly on the format. “It just comes down to play better.”

The Americans did that, too, in 2019. The two-day matches can go by quickly. There isn’t time to waste.

“In match play, you have to come out swinging, you can’t kind of get into the rhythm of it.”

Let the Cup begin.

How to watch

May 8

Foursomes: Peacock, 10-11 a.m.
Foursomes: Golf Channel, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Singles: Peacock, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Singles: Golf Channel, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

May 9

Foursomes: Peacock, 10-11 a.m.
Foursomes: Golf Channel, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Singles: Peacock, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Singles: Golf Channel, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

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Q&A with Nathaniel Crosby: Seminole memories and Walker Cup prep

Nathaniel Crosby, who is about to embark on his second Walker Cup captaincy for the 2021 matches, knows Seminole as well as maybe anyone.

Nathaniel Crosby knows Seminole Golf Club as well as maybe anyone. Crosby, who is about to embark on his second Walker Cup captaincy for the 2021 matches at Seminole, has been playing the course since he was a teenager.

When Crosby was an undergraduate at the University of Miami in the early 1980s, he made sure to use each of his allotted 25 rounds per year as a guest at Seminole. When he later became a member in the early 1990s, he stopped having to worry about that.

Crosby, 58, is enjoying something of a quiet year. After leading the U.S. Walker Cup team to victory at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England last fall, he is about to ramp it up again in preparation for the 2021 matches. Crosby’s initial captaincy took him all over the country scouting out the next generation of golf talent. That group included Matthew Wolff, who turned professional before having a chance to represent the U.S.

Wolff will partner with Rickie Fowler in Sunday’s TaylorMade Driving Relief charity event and take on the team of Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson in a best-ball event designed to raise money for COVID-19. It will be a significant day for golf fans as Seminole, arguably one of the world’s best courses, appears on TV for the first time.

Crosby revealed he’s just as excited as the rest of us to see how the club translates on the broadcast. We caught up with Crosby to hear an insider’s take on what kind of game it takes to be successful there, and how he’s preparing for the upcoming Walker Cup matches. Excerpts from that conversation appear below, starting with Crosby’s own game and how many Seminole member-guests he’s played.

Is your name in the locker room? Do you own a title?

I won the very first one I played. In 1979 as a guest with Doc Hoover, who was a frequent playing partner of Ben Hogan’s and everyone’s favorite orthopedic in town. I won in 1979 so what I like to say is I’m just trying to play through a 40-year slump right now.

When did you first see Seminole? What was your first impression?

It was great. I played four days in a row in 1976 with George Coleman and my dad and a great family friend. . . . As a 14-year-old, I shot 76 in a pretty good wind and George Coleman was so impressed with that, he said, “I’ll bet you if we play three more times…,” I said, “I’ll beat that.” And I shot between 75 and 77 the next three days and Coleman won $20 from me.

What kind of game do you need to be successful at Seminole?

Angles really is the trick to Seminole. I probably played as much as anybody – I haven’t played as much as some people in the last few years – from a longevity standpoint and seeing the course play differently.

In the 70s and 80s, the course was much softer, the greens were more receptive. The greens probably were much slower than they are today. The course is a lot of fun to shoot at the pins because you could put the pin in the corner of any of these greens and if you shot at the pin, you get rewarded if you pull off a great shot. Now it’s a battle of survival because the greens are so firm and so fast, if you’re not careful shooting at the pin is almost a non-issue because the greens get so short front to back in the sides of the green. If you don’t hit toward the center of the green, there’s no depth to the greens. Very, very difficult for anybody who doesn’t hit it down an elevator shaft, like so many of these golf pros do now that are doing so well. The ball descends like a parachute and it’s just very hard to shoot at a pin without a really high-arching shot. The green speeds and the green firmness is really what makes it a difficult challenge at this point.

General view of Seminole Golf Course and Club taken during a photocall held in Juno Beach, Florida, USA. (Photo: Brian Morgan/Getty Images)

What do you think about the idea that the public is going to see Seminole on TV for the first time? Are you surprised about this TV debut, or is it something you think is overdue?

I’m excited about it. It’s been a mystery. The golf course is a phenomenally, perfectly designed golf course. Steve Smyers has said that and used that line. It’s such a great design and there’s just so much detail on it. I think (club president) Jimmy Dunne, by accepting the Walker Cup and encouraging and getting this match to be played there, I think he wants Seminole to get some exposure. I don’t think anybody is upset about it. I think everybody is excited to have those kind of players play out there in a match. The club has got incredible mystery because of the people who have belonged there for several generations. It’s been the banking elite and industry leaders and then a few old champions thrown in the mix. … I think that’s the lure of Seminole as well as the design and the continued high rankings.

I’m anxious to see what it will look like on TV. I’m very anxious to see it.

How did it work getting an encore Walker Cup captaincy? Was that something you requested – or at least expressed interest in – or how was that presented to you?

It’s been the privilege of a lifetime to be picked. Especially the experience that I had, I had an incredible getting-to-know-you term with following all the players and following certain players that eventually all made the team. Andy Ogletree was the only one of the 10 that I hadn’t followed intently. Andy has an incredible game and is a tremendously worthy U.S. Amateur champion. He bumped one player that I had really been pushing for.

I think the whole experience of following the players, scouting them, going through the selection process with the USGA. I know certain captains in the past, it hasn’t been perfect. For me, it was absolutely perfect. Coming from behind and having an epic week in Liverpool where I played 36 years ago was a too-good-to-be-true scenario. I think six Walker Cup captains have been picked twice in a row. I think it’s been kind of a pattern from the USGA all the way back to the late 80s, I think they picked two in a row.

I did kind of expect it. You never count on it. You hope, and that has been their pattern the last few years. It’s nothing you solicit. You don’t ask for the dance. You’re waiting by the phone.

The United States team lifts the Walker Cup following the singles matches during Day 2 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. (Photo: Richard Martin/R&A via Getty Images)

In terms of your history at Royal Liverpool, your familiarity with Seminole, the U.S. really could not have designed a better captain these past two years. What a way for that to work out to get to have your repeat performance at this place you know so well.

I’m enjoying the time I’m spending getting to know the next generation. The biggest privilege of all is having the next generation of stars, let’s say 50 or 60 or 70 percent of these guys are going to make it and have successful PGA Tour careers. There are some that will zero out. For me, to have these guys give a hoot or look up to what I did 40 years ago, it’s not often in this world you get to take a bow for something you did 40 years ago. The USGA is incredibly kind to let former amateur champions, former mid-amateurs and other great amateurs represent amateur golf and captain the Walker Cup team because it is such a privilege to get to know these upcoming stars and their families.

If you had to pick an early winner in this weekend’s charity match at Seminole, which team would it be?

Moot on that. But I might have to pull for my neighbor Rory because he lives directly next door to me. I have to have a little sentimental interest in Rory on this. Rickie, by the way, was unbelievable during the practice squad. He spent a couple hours with the guys at a Walker Cup reunion event and couldn’t have been nicer to spend time with each and every one of the prospects, which was 16 players.

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