Practice Session – Walker Cup

192. USGA Announce 2026 Walker Cup USA Practice Squad

30th October 2025

The USGA’s International Team Selection (ITS) Committee has invited 18 players to attend a Walker Cup practice session on 18th-20th December 2025. The players will play at Jupiter Hills Golf Club, McArthur Golf Club and Seminole Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida.

Nathan Smith, who will captain the USA Team for a second time in the 2026 Walker Cup match at Lahinch Golf Club, will lead the event.

The following players will be in attendance: –

Evan BECK (35) of Virginia Beach, Virginia (Mid-Amateur)
Luke COLTON (18) of Frisco, Texas (High School – 2026)
Ethan FANG (20) of Plano, Texas (Oklahoma State, junior)
Josiah GILBERT (20) of Houston, Texas (Auburn, junior)
Stewart HAGESTAD (34) of Newport Beach, California (Mid-Amateur)
Max HERENDEEN (20) of Bellevue, Washington (Illinois, junior)
Mason HOWELL (18) of Thomasville, Georgia (High School – 2026)
Jackson KOIVUN (20) of Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Auburn, junior)
Michael LA SASSO (21) of Raleigh, North Carolina (Ole Miss, senior)
Bryan LEE (21) of Fairfax, Virginia (Virginia, senior)
Bobby MASSA (37) of Dallas, Texas (Mid-Amateur)
Jacob MODLESKI (20) of Noblesville, Indiana (Notre Dame, junior)
Miles RUSSELL (16) of Jacksonville Beach, Florida. (High School – 2027)
Lance SIMPSON (22) of Knoxville, Tennessee (Tennessee, senior)
Preston STOUT (21) of Dallas, Texas (Oklahoma State, junior)
Cameron TANKERSLEY (22) of Dickson, Tennessee (Ole Miss, senior)
Jack TURNER (21) of Orlando, Florida (Florida, junior)
Tyler WATTS (18) of Huntsville, Alabama (High School – 2026)

Seven of these players, namely Ethan Fang, Stewart Hagestad, Mason Howell, Jackson Koivun, Michael La Sasso, Jacob Modleski and Preston Stout, represented USA in the 2025 Walker Cup match at Cypress Point.

The other three 2025 USA team members, Ben James, Tommy Morrison and Jase Summy, are all college seniors and have presumably declined invitations on the basis that they will be turning pro in May 2026.

WAGR-ranked No. 1 Koivun, who earned his PGA TOUR card in May 2025, through the PGA TOUR University Accelerated program is attending but it remains to be seen whether he stays amateur long enough to play at Lahinch. He has earned the right to turn pro after either the 2026 or 2027 NCAA Championships and take up his season and a half PGA TOUR membership.

An invitation to the Walker Cup practice session does not guarantee selection to the team. Players not invited will also be considered for inclusion on the team as the 2026 season plays out.

Eight and seven of the 16 players from the December 2024 and 2022 Walker Cup practice sessions respectively competed in the 2025 and 2023 matches.

The 51st Match will be played at Lahinch G.C. in the Republic of Ireland, on 5th-6th September 2026.

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154. GB&I Squad Practice At St. Andrews

31st March 2023

10 Great British & Irish (GB&I) players met in St Andrews on Thursday 30th and Friday 31st March for a two day practice session on the Old Course.

From the original squad, announced in December 2022, Josh BERRY (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), John GOUGH (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Liam NOLAN (IRL), Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL), Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), Harley SMITH (ENG) and Tyler WEAVER (ENG) all attended.

Gregor TAIT (SCO), who performed well in Australia and South Africa in early 2023, has been added to the squad and was also invited to Fife by Captain Stuart Wilson.

Gregor Tait Practices at St. Andrews (Photo: The R&A)

10 members of the original squad were unable to attend.

Thanks to the Faldo Series James ASHFIELD (WAL), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) and Robert MORAN (IRL) have all been playing on the Challenge Tour in India over the last two weeks. Edwards-Hill encouragingly made the cut in both events.

Barclay BROWN (ENG), Archie DAVIES (WAL), Josh HILL (ENG), Mark POWER (IRL) and Calum SCOTT (SCO) continue to represent their colleges in the United States. They will return to these shores in June.

Frank KENNEDY (ENG) lives in Florida and U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) is also over in the States preparing for his Masters appearance next week.

Captain Wilson said “It’s a good opportunity for us to get together, bond and gel as a team. The majority of the guys know one another but it’s a different dynamic coming together as a team. It’s about trying to foster all the good relationships and team spirit.”

“It’s also giving them familiarisation with St Andrews, the golf course and the places we might eat at during the week. We also had some local caddies to give us some more insight into how they might play the Old.”

“I think in any sport, whether it is football, golf, rugby, home advantage is something you would always like to have. We’re delighted it’s here at St Andrews and I would think the GB&I support will be pretty strong. Hopefully the guys feel comfortable playing in their own backyard.”

The final ten-man team will be announced in mid-August.

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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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