16th December 2022
The R&A have announced an initial squad of 19 players for the Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) team to play the USA in the 49th Walker Cup match.
Here is a list of the players with their ages, golf clubs, nationalities and current world rankings (in alphabetical order): –
James ASHFIELD (21) – Delamere Forest, Wales
– SPWAR #204 / WAGR #195 *
Josh BERRY (17) – Doncaster, England
– SPWAR #199 / WAGR #960
Barclay BROWN (21) – Hallamshire / Stanford University – England
– SPWAR #80 / WAGR #34
Archie DAVIES (21) – Carlisle / East Tennessee State University – Wales
– SPWAR #64 / WAGR #65
Arron EDWARDS-HILL (23) – Chelmsford – England
– SPWAR #37 / WAGR #135
Hugh FOLEY (25) – Royal Dublin – Ireland
– SPWAR #62 / WAGR #142
John GOUGH (24) – Beaconsfield – England
– SPWAR #25 / WAGR #20
Connor GRAHAM (16) – Blairgowrie – Scotland
– SPWAR #146 / WAGR #249
Josh HILL (18) – Trump International Dubai – England
– SPWAR #322 / WAGR #55
Frank KENNEDY (17) – Trump National Jupiter – England
– SPWAR #274 / WAGR #127
Matthew MCCLEAN (29) – Malone – Ireland
– SPWAR #53 / WAGR #75
Robert MORAN (23) – Castle – Ireland
– SPWAR #70 / WAGR #101
Liam NOLAN (22) – Galway – Ireland
– SPWAR #135 / WAGR #335
Peter O’KEEFFE (41) – Douglas – Ireland
– SPWAR #155 / WAGR #298
Mark POWER (22) – Kilkenny / Wake Forest University – Ireland
– SPWAR #233 / WAGR #125
Calum SCOTT (19) – Nairn / Texas Tech. University – Scotland
– SPWAR #49 / WAGR #59
Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (17) – Huddersfield – England
– SPWAR #318 / WAGR #360
Harley SMITH (17) – The Rayleigh Club – England
– SPWAR #154 / WAGR #255
Tyler WEAVER (17) – Bury St Edmunds – England
– SPWAR #309 / WAGR #477
* Amateur rankings as at 16th December 2022.
Nine players from England, six from Ireland and two each from Scotland and Wales have been selected.
Barclay Brown and Mark Power are both aiming to play in their second Walker Cup having previously been selected at Seminole in 2021.
The final ten-man GB&I team will be announced in August just a few weeks before the match starts.
Whilst there are no major surprises in this squad announcement players who may consider themselves unlucky not to be included, assuming they haven’t unbeknown to me expressed an intention to turn pro shortly, include (in alphabetical order):-
Jack BIGHAM (ENG) – SPWAR #339 / WAGR #308
Jack BROOKS (ENG) – SPWAR #124 / WAGR #423
Paul CONROY (IRL) – SPWAR #162 / WAGR #724
Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) – SPWAR #161 / WAGR #421
Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) – SPWAR #259 / WAGR #907
Will HOPKINS (ENG) – SPWAR #217 / WAGR #625
Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) – SPWAR #137 / WAGR #486
Gregor TAIT (SCO) – SPWAR #179 / WAGR #763
GB&I captain Stuart Wilson said, “We have selected a talented group of players who are key to our preparations for the Walker Cup and share our determination to win back the trophy from the United States of America.”
“We will be getting together in St Andrews so that the players can really get to grips with the Old Course, understand its subtleties and learn from those individuals who have vast experience of the links.”
“Our aim is to select a team which will give us the best chance of winning the match next year. In that regard, we will continue to monitor the players’ performances in amateur events over the coming months and provide them with support and advice. There is also still time for golfers not included in the squad to play their way into our plans and we will be keeping a close eye on their results too.”
The 2023 match is scheduled to be played on the Old Course in St. Andrews on the weekend of 2nd – 3rd September.
The second Walker Cup match, and first in Great Britain, was played on the Old Course on 18th and 19th May 1923 so the forthcoming fixture will mark the anniversary of this occasion.
ME.
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