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.
ME.
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