24th April 2019
The R&A has today announced an initial squad of 26 players for the 2019 Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) Walker Cup team.
Those players that are available will meet at Royal Liverpool G.C. for a meal on the evening of Tuesday 30th April before playing the course on Wednesday 1st May.
The players, with their nationalities, ages and current SPWAR / WAGR, selected for the GB&I squad are: –
Jake BURNAGE, England (23) – SPWAR 108 / WAGR 78
Kieran CANTLEY, Scotland (21) – SPWAR 417 / WAGR 536
Ben CHAMBERLAIN, Wales (21) – SPWAR 825/ WAGR 455
Archie DAVIES, Wales (17) – SPWAR 1,127 / WAGR 304
Alex FITZPATRICK, England (20) – SPWAR 61 / WAGR 51
Bailey GILL, England (21) – SPWAR 148 / WAGR 159
Conor GOUGH, England (16) – SPWAR 381 / WAGR 29
David HAGUE, England (22) – SPWAR 195 / WAGR 94
Harry HALL, England (21) – SPWAR 71 / WAGR 104
Jake HAPGOOD, Wales (22) – SPWAR T354 / WAGR 491
Benjamin JONES, England (19) – SPWAR 136 / WAGR 80
Ryan LUMSDEN, Scotland (22) – SPWAR 117 / WAGR 92
Euan MCINTOSH, Scotland (50) – SPWAR 284 / WAGR 290
John MURPHY, Ireland (20) – SPWAR 110 / WAGR 229
Joseph PAGDIN, England (17) – SPWAR 357 / WAGR 67
Thomas PLUMB, England (20) – SPWAR 86 / WAGR 279
Mark POWER, Ireland (18) – SPWAR 181 / WAGR 124
Conor PURCELL, Ireland (21) – SPWAR 20 / WAGR 25
Caolan RAFFERTY, Ireland (26) – SPWAR 35 / WAGR 38
Sandy SCOTT, Scotland (20) – SPWAR 74 / WAGR 81
Tom SLOMAN, England (22) – SPWAR 47 / WAGR 31
Jamie STEWART, Scotland (19) – SPWAR 184 / WAGR 142
James SUGRUE, Ireland (22) – SPWAR 273 / WAGR 415
Tom THURLOWAY, England (21) – SPWAR 284 / WAGR 354
Euan WALKER, Scotland (23) – SPWAR 41 / WAGR 98
Robin WILLIAMS, England (17) – SPWAR T354 / WAGR 115
The initial squad includes 12 players from England, 6 from Scotland, 5 from Ireland and 3 from Wales.
Of those named above I am on record as already saying Tom Plumb, Conor Purcell, Caolan Rafferty, Tom Sloman and Euan Walker are already ‘probables’ based on their 2019 wins and high rankings.
I also believe Alex Fitzpatrick and Sandy Scott are moving in that direction given their strong recent form on the U.S. College circuit. 
The timetable from here is now clear: –
A second practice session has been scheduled for July at the host venue which a reduced number of players will be invited to attend.
The final ten-man GB&I team is expected to be announced on Monday 19th August, the day after the U.S. Amateur Championship finishes.
The match against United States of America will then take place on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th September at Royal Liverpool G.C.
In the official R&A Announcement Craig Watson, GB&I captain, said, “We have selected a talented group of players who are all in contention for a place in the team to play the United States of America and will be continuing to monitor the form and results of these players over the course of the season. We will also be looking closely at the performances of other players who have not been included in the squad and there is still time for them to play their way into our plans ahead of the final team selection later text his year.”
Whilst there are no major surprises in the selection it is perhaps worth looking in more detail at those players who have missed out and now have to fight their way back into the group.
Here are ten players, in alphabetical order, who are ranked highly but have missed out on the initial squad selection: –
Oliver FARRELL, England (SPWAR 158 / WAGR 393)
Alex GLEESON, Ireland (SPWAR 292 / WAGR 114)
Ben HUTCHINSON, England (SPWAR 235 / WAGR 204)
David LANGLEY, England (SPWAR 114 / WAGR 278)
Rowan LESTER, Ireland (SPWAR 212 / WAGR 100)
Jamie LI, England (SPWAR 234 / WAGR 119)
Joe LONG, England (SPWAR 169 / WAGR 157)
Ronan MULLARNEY, Ireland (SPWAR 139 / WAGR 205)
Daniel O’LOUGHLIN, England (SPWAR 191 / WAGR 294)
Rory FRANSSEN, Scotland (SPWAR 210 / WAGR 283)
It will be interesting to see who makes the final 10-man team in August and how many of them were in the initial squad.
ME.
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