Tag: walker cup

Luke Clanton, Jackson Koivun highlight invitees to U.S. Walker Cup practice session in December

Being invited to the Walker Cup practice session does not guarantee a selection to the team.

The 50th edition of the Walker Cup is less than a year away, and those looking to earn a spot on the team have an excellent opportunity to impress captain Nathan Smith in December.

The U.S. Golf Association announced Monday that 16 players have been invited to a Walker Cup practice session next month in Florida. The golfers will attend a practice session from Dec. 14-16 at McArthur Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida, and The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Florida.

Smith, who will also captain the 2026 team at Lahinch Golf Club in Lahinch, Ireland, won four U.S. Mid-Amateur (2003, 2009-10, 2012) and the inaugural 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball.

“The amateur golf talent in this country is impressive, and I’m thrilled to gather with this group for a practice session next month,” Smith said in a release. “We have a strong list of young men attending; a mixture of seasoned veterans as well as up-and-comers of the game. I’m excited to spend more time with this group.”

Highlighting the team is top-ranked amateur Luke Clanton, a junior at Florida State, as well as Jackson Koivun, a sophomore at Auburn who is the reigning consensus national Player of the Year. Also invited is four-time Walker Cup participant Stewart Hagestad and Ben James, a junior at Virginia who joins Hagestad as the only players invited to the session with Walker Cup experience.

The 16 players invited to the Walker Cup practice session are: Evan Beck, Parker Bell, Blades Brown, Luke Clanton, Ethan Fang, Stewart Hagestad, Max Herendeen, Ben James, Noah Kent, Jackson Koivun, Michael La Sasso, Bryan Lee, Tommy Morrison, Jase Summy, Brendan Valdes and Jackson Van Paris.

Being invited to the Walker Cup practice session does not guarantee a selection to the team. Players not invited will also be considered. Seven of the 16 players from the December 2022 Walker Cup practice session competed on the 2023 United States team, where it defeated Great Britain and Ireland, 14½-11½, at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

The 50th Walker Cup will be contested at Cypress Point in Pebble Beach, California, on Sept. 6-7, 2025. The Walker Cup is a two-day event with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes matches. The U.S. leads the overall series, 39-9-1, though its advantage is only 11-7 since 1989.

Each team is comprised of 10 players. The R&A selects members of the GB&I team.

Q&A: Nathan Smith on 2025 Walker Cup captaincy, host course Cypress Point and more

Golfweek caught up with Smith recently to talk Walker Cup, Cypress Point and amateur golf.

Nathan Smith was able to get some early scouting in last week.

Smith was in California at the Cypress Point Classic. Famed Cypress Point is hosting the 2025 Walker Cup, the 50th edition of the Ryder Cup-style battle between the best amateurs from the United States and Great Britain and Ireland.

Smith has played in three Walker Cups as a part of a decorated amateur career that included four U.S. Mid-Amateur victories. He’s also set to lead the squad at Cypress Point, No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best 2023 for top Classic Courses in the United States, in two years.

Golfweek caught up with Smith recently to talk Walker Cup, Cypress Point and amateur golf.

How each player from the United States, Great Britain and Ireland fared at the 2023 Walker Cup

Only one player went a perfect 4-0-0 over the two days of play at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

The American dominance in the Walker Cup continues.

The Red, White and Blue came back from a three-point deficit on Sunday to win the biennial bash against Great Britain and Ireland, 14½-11½, to claim the Cup for a fourth consecutive event.

Ten players comprise each team and there are four sessions of play with Foursomes and Singles on both Saturday and Sunday. Four teams of two compete in Foursomes on both days, while eight players compete in Singles on Saturday. All ten players play Singles on Sunday.

Leading the charge for the United States was the world’s top-ranked amateur, Vanderbilt junior Gordon Sargent, who went a perfect 4-0-0 over the two days of play at the Old Course at St. Andrews. Sargent is the only player of the 20 who competed to finish the week unbeaten and was one a few who earned three out of a possible four points.

Here’s how each player fared over the weekend at the 2023 Walker Cup at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

United States records

Player Overall record Singles record
Gordon Sargent 4-0-0 2-0-0
Caleb Surratt 3-1-0 2-0-0
Preston Summerhays 2-1-1 1-0-1
Stewart Hagestad 2-1-0 2-0-0
Nick Dunlap 1-2-1 0-1-1
Dylan Menante 1-1-1 0-0-1
Nick Gabrelcik 1-2-0 0-2-0
Ben James 1-2-0 0-1-0
Austin Greaser 1-2-0 1-1-0
David Ford 1-2-0 1-1-0

Great Britain and Ireland records

Player Overall record Singles record
Mark Power 3-1-0 2-0-0
Liam Nolan 2-1-0 1-1-0
Calum Scott 2-2-0 1-1-0
John Gough 2-2-0 1-1-0
Matthew McClean 1-1-2 0-0-2
Jack Bigham 1-1-0 1-1-0
Connor Graham 1-2-0 0-1-0
James Ashfield 1-2-0 0-1-0
Alex Maguire 1-3-0 0-2-0
Barclay Brown 0-2-1 0-1-1

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United States wins fourth consecutive Walker Cup with Sunday heroics at St. Andrews

The U.S. flipped a three-point deficit on the final day to win once again.

 

ST. ANDREWS — The underdogs could not become the top dogs. At the end of the 2023 Walker Cup here in sun-soaked St. Andrews it was the USA who were the best in show as a team jam-packed with talent flung a star-spangled spanner into Great Britain & Ireland’s hopes of a famous win.

The hosts led by three points going into the closing day at the Old Course but the U.S., with eight of the world’s top-10 players in their midst and a strength in depth that is deeper than a burial at sea, were simply too good. Those global rankings don’t tell fibs. A Foursomes fightback and a singles surge completed a 14 ½ – 11 ½ triumph.

The supremely gifted Gordon Sargent, the No 1 amateur on this birling clump of space rock, reeled off four wins out of four during the two-day tussle as the USA claimed a fourth successive victory in the biennial bout.

For Scotsman Stuart Wilson, it was a second defeat as a GB&I Walker Cup captain. Losing is never easy to stomach.

“The Americans just handled the conditions slightly better than us, and, without being too harsh, I’m sure our boys will be quite disappointed in the way they played themselves,” he said. “They tried their hardest, but they didn’t turn up with their ‘A’ games I would say in some matches. I think the guys will be hurting.”

A bright and breezy day had dawned with GB&I holding the kind of comfortable cushion you would get in a Bedouin tent. That three-point lead forged on Saturday’s opening series of jousts was certainly handy. In the ebb-and-flow of match play golf, however, such an advantage can become as brittle as the autoclaved aerated concrete that is hogging the headlines just now.

The USA came out fighting in the morning foursomes and won the session 3-1 to haul themselves to within a point. “We got the morning we needed,” said Mike McCoy, the U.S. captain, of a telling thrust. The fact that 12 of the 16 matches played in the whole contest at that stage had reached at least the 16th green underlined the closeness of the tussle.

Recent history, though, provided a shudder of foreboding for GB&I. The 8 ½ – 7 ½ lead they held going into the singles yesterday was the same as the advantage they had at the same point at Hoylake in 2019. And the U.S. went on to win eight of the 10 afternoon ties that year to romp to victory.

Cue another singles tsunami? Well, a 7-3 sweep in the afternoon was certainly a comprehensive return as the U.S. eased over the winning line.

Calum Scott lost to Caleb Surratt, 3 and 2, in the opening tie as the U.S. drew level and when 32-year-old Stewart Hagestad beat 16-year-old Connor Graham by a similar margin, the visitors went ahead on points for the first time. They would not surrender their authority and set about fortifying that position.

They were given a little helping hand at times too. In a crucial match, GB&I’s Barclay Brown had been 3 up with four to play in the second match against U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap but the momentum swung as wildly as a pendulum in a gale. Brown stumbled down the stretch and finally three-putted the 18th to give Dunlap an unlikely half-point. It was a morale-sapping blow for GB&I. For the USA, it was another high-fiving, back-slapping boost.

The marquee match involving Sargent and the sprightly John Gough, meanwhile, certainly stirred the senses. Gough, playing in his last event as an amateur, holed his second shot for an eagle on the sixth amid giddy scenes. It was Sargent, though, who came out on top and won on the last green as the U.S. moved to the brink of glory. David Ford’s 4-and-2 win over Alex Maguire got the champagne corks popping.

McCoy was part of the last U.S. side to lose a Walker Cup as a 52-year-old back in 2015 at Royal Lytham. He was going to savor this moment. “This one is going to be a great ride home,” he said with mighty grin. “It’s pretty special. It’s certainly the pinnacle of my golfing life. They (the US players) just played hard, right to the bitter end. I just drove the sunscreen around.”

In the end, it was Team USA who enjoyed another day in the Walker Cup sun.

The event returns in 2025 at Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, California before returning to the United Kingdom a year later in 2026 at Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland. Future venues already announced include Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (2028), Oakmont Country Club (2032) and Chicago Golf Club (2036).

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Photos: 2023 Walker Cup at the Old Course at St. Andrews

The 49th Walker Cup begins Saturday at the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland.

The Walker Cup is here.

It’s one of the greatest men’s amateur golf competitions in the world, and it’s set for the Home of Golf. The 2023 Walker Cup begins Saturday at the Old Course at St. Andrews, as the best amateurs from the United States will take on those from Great Britain and Ireland. The Old Course has hosted eight previous Walker Cups, more than any other venue, most recently in 1975, when the USA defeated GB&I, 15½-8½.

The USA leads the all-time series over GB&I, 38-9-1.

The United States’ 10-man roster is highlighted by World No. 1 Gordon Sargent and U.S. Amateur winner Nick Dunlap.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the 2023 Walker Cup.

Check the yardage book: The Old Course at St. Andrews for the 2023 Walker Cup

StackaLine offers a hole-by-hole guide for the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland.

The Old Course at St. Andrews – host of 2023 Walker Cup in Scotland – wasn’t originally designed so much as it evolved in the early 15th century. Architectural contributions were made hundreds of years later by Daw Anderson in the 1850s and Old Tom Morris a few decades after that.

Known as the Home of Golf, the Old Course ranks No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best 2023 list of classic courses in the United Kingdom and Ireland built before 1960.

The Old Course will be stretched to 7,313 yards with a par of 72 for the 49th Walker Cup, the biennial match between amateurs from the United States versus amateurs from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The length of each hole for the Walker Cup is noted in the captions below.

The teams will play four foursomes matches Saturday morning, eight singles matches Saturday afternoon, four foursomes matches Sunday morning and 10 singles matches Sunday afternoon. (Foursomes is often called alternate-shot in the U.S., and each two-man side will play one ball, alternating shots until the ball is holed.)

The Walker Cup will be broadcast on Golf Channel in the U.S. at 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. EDT on Saturday, then 8 a.m.-2 p.m. EDT Sunday.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the players face this week.

Everything to know about the 2023 Walker Cup at St. Andrews

The USA leads the all-time series over GB&A, 38-9-1.

It’s time for one of the greatest men’s amateur competitions in the world, the Walker Cup.

The 49th Walker Cup is set for Sept. 2-3 at the Old Course at St. Andrews. The Walker Cup is a 10-man amateur team competition between the U.S. and Great Britain and Ireland. The Old Course has hosted eight previous Walker Cups, more than any other venue, most recently in 1975, when the USA defeated GB&I, 15½-8½.

The USA leads the all-time series over GB&I, 38-9-1.

The United States’ 10-man roster is highlighted by World No. 1 Gordon Sargent and U.S. Amateur winner Nick Dunlap.

Here’s everything you need to know for the 2023 Walker Cup.

Meet the 10 members of the 2023 United States Walker Cup team

Here’s who will represent the United States at St. Andrews.

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — The roster for the United States Walker Cup team is set.

Following the conclusion of the 123rd U.S. Amateur on Sunday, the United States Golf Association’s International Team Selection working group and coach Mike McCoy announced the final selections to represent the American team in the 49th Walker Cup at the Old Course at St. Andrews from Sept. 2-3.

The Walker Cup is a 10-man amateur team competition between the U.S. and Great Britain and Ireland. The Old Course has hosted eight previous Walker Cups, more than any other venue, most recently in 1975, when the USA defeated GB&I, 15½-8½.

Rising Stanford senior Michael Thorbjornsen, second in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, would’ve represented the United States but withdrew from the competition, as well as the U.S. Amateur, because of a back injury.

Meet the 10 members of the 2023 United States Walker Cup team.

Caleb Surratt named to Walker Cup Team

Tennessee’s Caleb Surratt named to Walker Cup Team.

Caleb Surratt was named to the 2023 USA Walker Cup Team by the United States Golf Association.

The USGA’s International Selection Committee announced the team on Monday.

The Walker Cup is a two-day golf match played between 10-man teams of amateur golfers from the United States, Great Britain and Ireland.

Each day of tournament play features four foursome matches in the morning and a series of singles matches during the afternoon.

The event takes place Sept. 2-3 at the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, a par-72 links course and home of the Open Championship.

Surratt also represented the United States during the Arnold Palmer Cup in June.

He was named SEC Freshman of the Year and was an all-conference selection for the Vols following the 2022-23 season.

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Gordon Sargent, Michael Thorbjornsen and David Ford named to 2023 United States Walker Cup team at St. Andrews

The top three ranked amateur golfers will represent the United States.

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With the Walker Cup nearly two months away, the United States Golf Association announced Thursday its first three selections to represent the Americans at the Old Course at St. Andrews in September.

Gordon Sargent, Michael Thorbjornsen and David Ford, the top-three golfers in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, will don red, white and blue for the United States in the 49th Walker Cup, set for Sept. 2-3 in Scotland.

“Gordon, Michael and David are fantastic additions to the team,” U.S. captain Mike McCoy said in a release. “Not only have all three of these young men had impressive seasons, resulting in these automatic selections, but they are future stars of our game who bring immense talent, enthusiasm and camaraderie to the team. Having them included in the experience at the Old Course is something I am very much looking forward to both personally and as team captain.”

The USGA’s International Team Selection working group will name a second set of additional players to the 10-member team in late July and will name the final selections to the team and alternates immediately following the U.S. Amateur Championship. The winner of the 2023 U.S. Amateur, set for Aug. 14-20 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado, and the recipient of the 2023 McCormack Medal, should they be American, will earn the final automatic spots onto the team.  The Walker Cup Match is a 10-man amateur team competition between the USA and Great Britain and Ireland. The Old Course has hosted eight previous Walker Cups, more than any other venue, most recently in 1975, when the USA defeated GB&I, 15½-8½, led by future U.S. Open champions Jerry Pate and Curtis Strange.

Sargent, a junior at Vanderbilt, won low amateur honors last week at the 2023 U.S. Open and has won five times in college. And if he participates in the Walker Cup (as he’s expected to), Sargent will be up to 18 points in PGA Tour University Accelerated, meaning he’s only two points shy of automatically securing a PGA Tour card.

Thorbjornsen also qualified for the U.S. Open, his third time in the major championship. He won the Pac-12 Championship for Stanford last month and was named the conference’s Golfer of the Year. Ford, a fellow first-team All-American, was named ACC Player of the Year and led North Carolina to the semifinals of match play at the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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