31. Alfie Plant Fully Committed To The 2017 Walker Cup

13th November 2016

Englishman Alfie Plant has undoubtedly been one of the stars of the 2016 Great British and Irish amateur golf season.

The highlight of Alfie’s year was his 7-shot win in the prestigious Lytham Trophy in May, where he dominated a strong field in often poor conditions.

Alfie Plant – Winner Of The 2016 Lytham Trophy (Photo: Darren Plant)

However, it was his impressive performance in the Eisenhower Trophy in September, where he finished tied 3rd on -12 and led England to a best ever silver medal position, that perhaps emphasised just how important he maybe to our 2017 Walker Cup hopes.

Particularly as this came on the the back of two other solid team performances this year. Alfie earned his first Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) cap in The St. Andrews Trophy match against Europe and captained England against France at Formby.

England beat France 14-10 in May with Alfie picking up two wins and one half to be joint leading contributor. The St. Andrews Trophy match in July was halved, with the trophy retained, with Alfie delivering one of four all-important single wins on the final afternoon as GB&I staged a stirring comeback.

Something of a late developer in the modern era the 24 year old from Kent seems to be getting better, benefiting from more maturity and competitive experience in an extended stay in the amateur game.

Alfie currently sit’s 40th in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking and 52nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. That places him 6th and 9th respectively in the GB&I-only lists.

In a recent interview with Steve Carroll in the November 2016 edition of the National Club Golfer magazine Alfie was clear as to his number 1 goal for 2017.

“I want to play in the Walker Cup. Everyone is fighting to get in the team but I am a little bit older than the rest and, hopefully, my experience will mean I can perform again next season to get out to LA.”

“After the Walker Cup I will be turning professional. I will be 25 and I think that’s a good age. I know a lot of people turn a lot younger and I am bit of a veteran out there but I have done my apprenticeship and I am on the right track.”

“The Walker Cup is the pinnacle of amateur golf. The coverage you get from it is brilliant and people who have played in it in the past are performing on the main tour.”

“I’ve been looking up the course in Beverley Hills and am getting excited about it. But it is a long season and I have still got to perform”.

The 2016 St. Andrews Trophy – Friends In High Places (Photo: Darren Plant)

Alfie clearly knows that at this early stage nothing can be taken for granted but he also knows he is playing better than ever and now delivering consistently in the big events.

I fully expect him to be a member of the GB&I Walker Cup team in 2017. In what will be a very challenging away match his “veteran” status will be a most welcome addition to the team.

ME.

Copyright © Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.