Michael Thorbjornsen

160. Thorbjornsen Withdraws From The USA Team

9th August 2023

Michael THORBJORNSEN has announced on his Instagram account that he has withdrawn from the 2023 USA Walker Cup team due to a stress fracture in his back.

Michael Thorbjornsen (Photo: Stanford University)

Thorbjornsen, who is a rising senior at Stanford University and the #2 ranked player in the current World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), has been advised to take a 4-8 week break from the game so that the injury can hopefully heal naturally.

Thorbjornsen had been in the three-man group, alongside David FORD and Gordon SARGENT, who had been automatically selected for the 2023 USA team due to them having the three best American WAGR’s on 21st June 2023.

As one of the world’s leading amateurs his loss is equally a blow for the United States team and the match itself where he would have been one of the big draws for the supporters at St. Andrews.

Thorbjornsen’s Instagram Post

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157. USA’s Three 2023 WAGR Picks Are Confirmed

21st June 2023

In line with the USGA’s International Team Selection Working Group’s (ITS) guidance provided in May we now know the first three members of USA’s 2023 Walker Cup team.

David Ford, Gordon Sargent & Michael Thorbjornsen (Photo: USGA)

The three highest ranked American players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) on 21st June 2023, namely Gordon SARGENT (20) #1, Michael THORBJORNSEN (21) #2 and David FORD (20) #3, have all secured automatic selections.

All three play in the U.S. college system. Next season Sargent will be a junior at Vanderbilt, Thorbjornsen a senior at Stanford and Ford a junior at University of North Carolina.

Sargent who currently has 16 PGA TOUR University Accelerated points will gain 2 more when he represents USA at the Walker Cup. When a player reaches 20 points and has completed their junior season (as a minimum) they become eligible for a full PGA Tour card for the rest of that season and the one after that. With other amateur and pro events coming up this summer ahead of his September trip to St. Andrews Sargent looks very likely to become the first player to complete this route to the Tour.

The three selectees all attended the USA’s Squad practice session in Jupiter, Florida in December 2022.

The ITS will name a second set of additional players to the 10-man team in late July and then round things off following the completion of the U.S. Amateur Championship on 20th August 2023.

WAGR Top 10 21st June 2023 Release (Graphic: WAGR)

Whilst the match is never played on paper USA players currently occupy nine places in the latest WAGR top 10 and fifteen in the top 20.

Click here to view the current – WAGR Men’s Ranking

Click here to view my earlier article – ‘155. USGA Provides 2023 Walker Cup USA Team Selection Timetable’

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155. USGA Provide 2023 Walker Cup USA Team Selection Timetable

17th May 2023

The USGA’s International Team Selection Working Group (ITS) has this week confirmed the 2023 USA Walker Cup team’s selection timetable.

This process is in line with the USGA’s selection policy announcement of July 2018 which the ITS have followed for the last two matches.

The three highest ranked American players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) on 21st June 2023 will receive automatic selections onto the team.

As at 17th May 2023 the three eligible players under this category would be Gordon SARGENT #2, Michael THORBJORNSEN #3 and David FORD #4. All three attended the USA’s Squad practice session in Jupiter, Florida in December 2022.

If an automatic selection declines their spot it will be offered to the next ranked USA player on WAGR.

A second set of players, which I assume will be three to five in number, will be confirmed by the ITS in mid-to-late July.

The remaining players will then be announced immediately following the Final of the U.S. Amateur Championship at Cherry Hills C.C. in Colorado on 20th August. This is because the 2023 U.S. Amateur champion and the recipient of the 2023 McCormack Medal, should they be American, also earn automatic spots onto the team.

At least one mid-amateur (25 years and older) player, will be included in the USA team by the ITS. It seems likely that Stewart HAGESTAD, currently WAGR #15, will pick up this berth, making it four matches in a row at St. Andrews.

Click here to view the USGA’s full press release – Automatic USA Walker Cup, WATC Team Selections Set For June 21

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145. Sixteen Players Selected For USA 2023 Walker Cup Practice Session

15th November 2022

The USGA’s International Team Selection Committee announced today that it had invited 16 players to attend a USA Walker Cup practice session on 15-18 December 2022 in Jupiter, Florida.

The following players have accepted invitations: –

Evan BECK, 32, of Virginia Beach, VA (Wake Forest, 2013 graduate)
– SPWAR #171 / WAGR #66 *

Michael BRENNAN, 20, of Leesburg, VA (Wake Forest, junior)
– SPWAR #29 / WAGR #18

David FORD, 20, of Peachtree Corners, GA (North Carolina, sophomore)
– SPWAR #5 / WAGR #7

Nicholas GABRELCIK, 20, of Trinity, FL (North Florida, junior)
– SPWAR #12 / WAGR #9

Stewart HAGESTAD, 31, of Newport Beach, CA (South. Cal., 2013 grad.)
– SPWAR #118 / WAGR #8

Derek HITCHNER, 23, of Minneapolis, MN (Pepperdine, grad. student)
– SPWAR #20 / WAGR #36

Palmer JACKSON, 21, of Murrysville, PA (Notre Dame, senior)
– SPWAR #30 / WAGR #43

Benjamin JAMES, 17, of Milford, CT (Virginia, freshman)
– SPWAR #33 / WAGR #21

Bryce LEWIS, 22, of Hendersonville, TN (Tennessee, junior)
– SPWAR #17 / WAGR #30

Dylan MENANTE, 21, of Carlsbad, CA (North Carolina, senior)
– SPWAR #9 / WAGR #6

Maxwell MOLDOVAN, 20, of Uniontown, OH (Ohio State, junior)
– SPWAR #11 / WAGR #23

Gordon SARGENT, 19, of Birmingham, AL (Vanderbilt, sophomore)
– SPWAR #4 / WAGR #3

Cole SHERWOOD, 20, of Austin, TX (Vanderbilt, junior)
– SPWAR #18 / WAGR #12

Ross STEELMAN, 21, of Atlanta, GA (Georgia Tech, senior)
– SPWAR #14 / WAGR #22

Caleb SURRATT, 18, of Indian Trail, NC (Tennessee, freshman)
– SPWAR #3 / WAGR #13

Michael THORBJORNSEN, 21, of Wellesley, MA (Stanford, junior)
– SPWAR #1 / WAGR #4

Stewart Hagestad, the 2016 and 2021 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, is the only player with previous Walker Cup experience (in 2017, 2019, 2021) to be attending the practice session.

Notable omissions include William MOUW (SPWAR #6 / WAGR #15), Austen GREASER (SPWAR #7 / WAGR #5), Sam BENNETT (SPWAR #8 / WAGR #2), Travis VICK (SPWAR #15 / WAGR #10) Kelly CHINN (SPWAR #19 / WAGR #90), Ben CARR (SPWAR #21 / WAGR #56), Ricky CASTILLO (SPWAR #27 / WAGR #24) and John BUTLER (SPWAR #28 / WAGR #39). These players are expected to turn pro once the college season has been completed in May 2023 and all are believed to have excused themselves.

The arrival of LIV Golf, who have shown an interest in signing up top amateurs, and subsequent changes to the PGA Tour University programme, which is now offering the No. 1 college player direct access to the PGA Tour after the conclusion of the NCAA Div. I Championship, are both expected to accentuate the above issue, particularly where graduated seniors are concerned.

USA Team Practice Session (Graphic: USGA)

Mike McCoy, captain of the 2023 USA Team, said “The young golf talent in this country is impressive, and I’m thrilled to gather with this group for a practice session next month. We have a strong list of young men attending; a mixture of seasoned veterans as well as up-and-coming stalwarts of the amateur game. I’m excited to spend more time with this group.”

John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer, said “This serves as another step in the process of team selection and is an opportunity for all involved to become more familiar with each other and begin to build team camaraderie. These decorated amateurs represent a talented group of potential team members, but we expect others will also be considered as the selection process moves toward its conclusion.”

Picking up on this final point 10 of the 16 players from the December 2020 USA practice session competed in the May 2021 match at Seminole whilst 7 of the 16 players who attended the December 2018 practice session made the final USA Team for the 2019 match at Royal Liverpool.

The 49th Match will be played on the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland on 2nd-3rd September 2023.

* Amateur rankings as at 15th November 2022.

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124. Sixteen Players Selected For USA 2021 Walker Cup Practice Session

24th November 2020

Sixteen players have been invited to attend a USA Walker Cup practice session on 16-18 December 2020 by the USGA’s International Team Selection Committee.

The session will be overseen by captain Nathaniel Crosby and held at Bay Hill Club & Lodge and the nearby Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, both in Orlando, Florida.

Bay Hill Club & Lodge

The sixteen players, with their current SPWAR’s and home towns, are: –

Ricky Castillo – #13 – Yorba Linda, California
Pierceson Coody – #5 – Plano, Texas
Quade Cummins – #2 – Weatherford, Oklahoma
Cooper Dossey – #32 – Austin, Texas
Austin Eckroat – #8 – Edmond, Oklahoma
Stewart Hagestad – #64 – Newport Beach, California
Cole Hammer – #18 – Houston, Texas
McClure Meissner – #16 – San Antonio, Texas
William Mouw – #12 – Chino, California
John Pak – #9 – Scotch Plains, New Jersey
David Perkins – #14 – East Peoria, Illinois
Garett Reband – #35 – York, South Carolina
Cameron Sisk – #31 – San Diego, California
Tyler Strafaci – #6 – Davie, Florida
Davis Thompson – #3 – St. Simons Island, Georgia
Michael Thorbjornsen – #267 – Wellesley, Massachusetts

Mid-amateur Stewart Hagestad (2017-19), Cole Hammer (2017) and John Pak (2019) have all represented the USA in previous Walker Cup matches.

Michael Thorbjornsen, the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, has the highest SPWAR and there are 123 other American players above him in this particular ranking. However, he did recently reach the quarter finals of the 2020 U.S. Amateur and he does enjoy a WAGR of #32 which goes someway to explaining his inclusion.

Trey Winstead #18 in the SPWAR, Trent Phillips #21, Travis Vick #24 and Parker Coady #29, twin brother of Pierceson, can all consider themselves unlucky to miss out on an invite.

Lake Nona Golf & Country Club

Eight of the sixteen players invited are competing in the Arnold Palmer Cup, also being played at Bay Hill on 21-23 December, so the USGA is sensibly limiting travel for the invitees during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is also an advantage to the visiting GB&I team as USA’s leading players will not be gaining the early look at Seminole that they may have been expecting.

Seven of the sixteen players from the 2019 Walker Cup practice session ultimately made the 10-man USA Team.

The 48th Match will be played at Seminole Golf Club, in Juno Beach, Florida on 8-9 May 2021.

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